Break the Silence
by Wicked3DS
Summary: Vance is a 16 year old making his way through the Kanto region. Along the way, he will face new and unfamiliar challenges, along with finding some old foes...
1. Prologue - The Last Fight

They were both down to their last Pokémon. Red with his Charizard, Giovanni with his Rhydon. Red knew what was at stake in this battle. Not only the Earth Badge and access to the Pokémon League, but also finally eliminating one of the biggest crime lords Kanto had ever seen.

"Let's do this Charizard! Start it off with Flamethrower!" Charizard flew in quickly and launched a powerful breath of fire right on target at Rhydon. It was knocked over, almost in shock of being overpowered. Yet it was by no means finished yet.

"Rhydon, use Rock Slide!" Red knew this was trouble. A Rock Slide from Rhydon could be the downfall of Charizard. Rock-type attacks were Charizard's Achilles' heel, and if Rhydon could land a hit, it would gain a major advantage. But Red was clever. He had not gotten to this point with just luck or power, it also took knowledge and skill as a trainer. He also knew what his Charizard was capable of, and placed his confidence in it to win the battle.

"Charizard, fly up to dodge, and if you can't avoid them, use Iron Tail to knock them back!" Rocks came flying in at a great pace right at Charizard, but it remained calm and quickly flew up into the air, with its tail ready to block any incoming rocks. But Charizard was so fast, this was unnecessary. The next command was an Iron Tail, which Charizard landed a direct hit on Rhydon, knocking it to the ground and shaking it up. Rhydon got up slowly, waiting for Giovanni's next command.

"Rhydon, we can't lose this now! Thunderpunch!" Rhydon moved quickly for its large size and landed a lightning packed punch right on target. Charizard was knocked down and in a little bit of trouble. Rhydon was a powerful Pokémon, and that punch, which was already very effective on Charizard, was not an average one. Charizard flew up and was still ready to finish Rhydon off, once and for all.

"Charizard, this is it. Finish it up with your best Flamethrower!" Charizard flew in and fired its biggest flame yet at Rhydon, landing a direct hit. Rhydon was knocked down, and for good. It struggled to get up, but could not gain its balance and was down for the count. Red was overjoyed, and ran up to embrace Charizard for its victory. Giovanni hung his head in shame. He knew this was the end of the line. Team Rocket could no longer be revived. He walked up to Red, ready to concede defeat.

"It has been quite a year. I have learned that there are many things that I have yet to understand. I cannot face my followers, as I have failed them as a leader. As of today, Team Rocket is finished forever. You have been a powerful foe, Red, and I concede defeat to you here today. I will dedicate my life to training, and I hope that one day we may meet again. Until then, farewell!"

Giovanni left the gym, but before doing so, left Red with the Earth Badge, a symbol of not only his final step into entering the Pokémon League, but also of his victory in the last fight with the greatest criminal mastermind in recent history. Red could not help wondering if Giovanni was really finished for good, but he could not worry about this now. He continued on his way, ready for his next challenge.


	2. Burning Bright

"And now for the final battle! The Champion, Gary vs. the challenger, Red, for the Pokémon league title!"

Vance Campbell watched as his hero, Red, battled the former champion Gary for the title in a clip from 20 years ago. Vance was probably Red's biggest fan. It helped that Red was the greatest known trainer in Kanto, if not on the entire planet, because of his skill and his kindness toward Pokémon and humans alike. He was the master of the art of Pokémon training and many who followed him have tried to imitate his success. Vance would become another one of these tomorrow, as he was going to get his first Pokémon from Professor Oak and his new assistant, Professor Willow, who would be taking over within the next 10 years.

Vance found sleep hard to catch that night as he was filled with excitement for his new Pokémon. He already knew which Pokémon he was going to choose, and he couldn't wait to go pick it out at Oak's lab. When he finally did fall asleep, he dreamed of battling Red's Charizard with a Gyarados. In a close match, Gyarados came out on top, although Charizard had put up a great fight against a water-type. Vance was in awe as he shook his idol's hand, but was disappointed when he realized it was only a dream.

Vance awoke at 7 a.m. to a horrendous alarm, but he welcomed it with open arms. In just an hour, he would be picking out a brand new Pokémon that would guide him to becoming the greatest Pokémon trainer ever. He combed his short brown hair until it was the way he wanted it, and made his way downstairs to a large breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast made by his mother.

"Eat up, Vance," she said, "you need your strength for today."

"Thanks mom, this smells great!" Vance took a plateful of food and devoured it happily. His mom was a great cook, which was necessary with a teenage boy in the house.

"Hey Vance!" Vance's dad came down shortly after, "you ready to start the big Journey?"

"Of course, dad! I've been anxious for weeks, watching Pokémon tapes and all kinds of crazy stuff."

"This is a big step, Vance, I hope you know what you're up against."

"I know, dad," Vance replied, "I've been preparing for it. I know I have what it takes."

Vance finished his delicious breakfast and went to his room to finish packing. "Tent? Check. Sleeping bag? Check. Town map? Check. Pokégear? Check. Extra clothes? Hey, where'd - "

Vance looked up confusedly from his backpack and saw his pajamas and extra clothes sitting on the bed.

"Ah, there we go. Extra clothes, check. Just gotta leave room for Pokéballs and my Pokédex."

Vance ventured downstairs with his backpack ready to go to Oak's lab. "I'm leaving guys."

"Vance, be careful out there," his mom said, giving him a kiss, "come home every once in a while."

"I will, mom."

"Be strong, Vance," his dad said, "believe in yourself and you will go far. I hope to see you in the Champion's circle!"

"Thanks, guys. I'll see you later, don't worry."

Vance hugged his parents, then walked down Route 1 to Pallet Town, where Oak's lab was. He was careful to stick to the path, as he might encounter a 1-on-0 Pokémon battle if he didn't. It was a very short route, taking less than five minutes to arrive at the lab. When Vance got to the door, he saw a sign that said "New trainers, come right in!" _Trainers? I thought I was the only one coming at this time._ He walked in to what looked like a regular house. A living room with a couch, TV, sofa, and fireplace was the first thing he saw. It was all very clean too. _This doesn't look like a lab._ Just then, silver-haired Professor Oak came in with his long lab coat.

"Ah, Vance," he said, shaking Vance's hand, "it's good to see you again. Are you ready to choose a Pokémon?"

"Of course! But first, a question. Are there others coming today?"

"Oh yes," he said, "more trainers will be coming later on. But they aren't coming until later on. For example, I have a young woman coming around 11 and young man at 2. Although, unlike you, they each already have a Pokémon. Perhaps you'll get to meet them at some point on your journey."

"That would be cool. I look forward to meeting and battling all kinds of trainers."

"You sound like you have the will to learn," Oak said, "that's a good thing for someone who wishes to become a good trainer. Now, shall we get started?"

Oak led Vance out of the living room and down what looked like stairs into a basement. When they got down there, Vance knew where he was immediately. _Now this is more like it._ The large desk, computer, lab desks, and giant screen gave away that this was where Oak did most of his work. He saw a fairly attractive woman standing near a circular machine that held three Pokéballs. _There's what I've been waiting for all my life._

"Vance, this is my assistant, Professor Willow. She will be taking over the lab within the next five to ten years."

"Very nice to meet you, Vance," she said with a smile. She was very pretty, with long brown hair and beautiful green eyes.

"Same to you, Professor Willow. Have you enjoyed working with Professor Oak?"

"Absolutely," she said, "he's been wonderful, and I have learned a lot from him. He is just a book of Pokémon knowledge!"

"Why, thank you, Professor Willow. I know you will do a good job with this lab when I retire. Now, let's get this boy his Pokémon! I know he's been looking forward to it."

They walked over to the machine with the Pokéballs and stood around it. The balls were on pedestals that labeled each of the starter Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Vance's excitement peaked at this moment.

"So, Vance," Oak said, "have you made your decision yet?"

"I thought long and hard about this decision," he said, "and after careful consideration, I have decided to choose Charmander!"

He took Charmander's Pokéball from the pedestal and held it in his hand. _My first Pokémon, I am going to become the best with you. I guarantee it._

"Let it out Vance," Willow said.

"Really? Ok, go Charmander!"

The ball opened and with a flash of light, Charmander appeared. It stood at about two feet tall. Vance first noticed the ever-famous flame burning bright on its tail. It exclaimed "Charmander!" with great excitement when it saw its brand new trainer. Vance was overjoyed at this.

"It seems to like you a lot," Oak said, " and now for your parting gifts. Here are five Pokéballs and your Pokédex, updated to record the latest data on all of the currently known Pokémon."

"Thanks a lot, Professor." Vance took the gifts and said his farewells to Oak and Willow. He looked at Charmander's Pokéball and smiled, ready for whatever challenges would lie ahead of him on his journey.


	3. Fireproof

"Wow, a Pidgey!"

Vance set out for Route 1, this time looking for Pokémon he could catch. After a short walk, he found a strong-looking Pidgey that he wanted to catch.

"Alright, Charmander, let's catch this one!" He tossed the Pokéball and Charmander appeared, ready to battle.

"Charmander, use Ember!" Charmander shot bolts of fire at Pidgey, which clearly damaged it a good bit. Pidgey flew up and charged into Charmander with great force, knocking it down.

"Wow, an Aerial Ace! Alright Charmander, use Slash!" Charmander ran up to Pidgey and scratched it with sharp claws. Pidgey looked visibly tired, and Vance knew this was his chance.

"Pokéball, go!" Vance tossed the ball at Pidgey. It was overtaken by a red light and went into the ball. Vance waited nervously for the ball to stop shaking and the red light to go out. He really wanted this strong Pidgey to be his first Pokémon caught. After what seemed like hours, the light went out, the ball stopped shaking, and Pidgey was his.

"Yes! Way to go Charmander, we made our first catch!"

"Charmander, Char!" Charmander was just as excited as Vance.

They continued on their way into Viridian City and arrived at the Pokémon Center fairly quickly. After healing up, he went back out to Route 1 to battle a few wild Pokémon with Charmander and Pidgey for training. He trained for most of the day until nightfall came, then went back to the Pokémon Center to stay for the night.

"You guys did great today. I can't wait to keep on winning battles. I know you guys have what it takes to be winners. We're gonna be the greatest one day, right guys?"

"Pidge!" "Char!"

Vance awoke fairly early in the morning well rested after a good night's sleep. The training from the previous day made it easy for him to fall asleep as he and his Pokémon were very tired. He was ready to set out for Viridian Forest, but was stopped by another kid about his age.

"Hey, you have two Pokémon?"

"Yeah. Why, what's up?"

"The name's Isaac. I came over from the Johto region and I'm looking to battle someone. Haven't been in a trainer battle and I want to give it a shot. You game?"

"Sure," Vance said, "I've never battled another trainer either. Where shall we go?"

They decided to go to Route 22, where there was a fair bit of room for a battle.

"Alright, Pidgey," Vance said, "start things off!"

Pidgey came out of its Pokéball ready for battle.

"Pidgey, huh? A beginner's Pokémon. Alright, then I choose Cyndaquil!"

Isaac tossed a Pokéball that revealed a small, dark blue mouse with fire engulfing its back.

_Cyndaquil, _Vance thought, _never heard of that one before. Must be one of the ones from Johto._

"Here we go Pidgey! Start with Quick Attack!"

Pidgey flew quickly at Cyndaquil and struck a minor blow.

"Cyndaquil! Use Ember!"

Cyndaquil shot bolts of fire at Pidgey, but Pidgey managed to dodge, learning from it's previous battle with Charmander.

"Pidgey, Aerial Ace!"

Isaac was shocked at Pidgey's ability to use Aerial Ace, since he believed it was nothing but a weak first-catch Pokémon. Pidgey flew up, then dive-bombed at Cyndaquil with great speed, landing a direct hit and knocking Cyndaquil out of the battle.

"Whoa, that's no beginner's Pidgey. That was impressive."

"Thanks, Isaac," Vance said, "I caught it for that reason."

"Cyndaquil, return. You did a great job, take a nice rest. My next Pokémon will be Squirtle!"

Isaac tossed a Pokéball and revealed a small, blue turtle Pokémon.

_Pidgey's gotta win this, _Vance thought,_ if it goes down, I doubt Charmander is gonna be able to beat a Water-type._

"Pidgey, start off with Gust!"

Pidgey flapped its wings rapidly and blew Squirtle backwards, causing it to lose its balance.

"Squirtle, use Water Gun!"

Squirtle shot a stream of water at Pidgey, hitting it dead on and knocking it out of the air.

"Hang on Pidgey, use Aerial Ace!"

After getting it's balance, Pidgey again flew up and gathered speed, then charged down at Squirtle with great force. It landed a direct hit, but unlike Cyndaquil, Squirtle took the hit and managed to get back up.

"Squirtle, finish it off with Iron Tail!"

Squirtle made an impressive leap and with a tail that turned silver and shiny, whacked Pidgey dead on, knocking it down and out of the battle.

"Return, Pidgey," Vance said, "Good job. you fought hard to knock Cyndaquil out."

Vance was down to just his Charmander and he had his doubts.

_Well, here goes nothing. _"Charmander, come on out!"

"Charmander, Char!" Charmander, though at a disadvantage, looked as determined as ever to earn Vance his first victory against an opponent.

"Charmander, eh? A great Pokémon, but at a disadvantage to my Squirtle! Let's win this Squirtle!"

"Charmander, do your best! Use Ember!"

Charmander shot a small stream of flames at Squirtle, landing a hit, but not effecting Squirtle very much.

"Squirtle, use Water Gun!"

Squirtle shot a stream of water at Charmander, landing a severe hit on it. Charmander looked severely weakened, but still had the will to continue.

"Charmander, we can do this. Use Slash!"

Charmander ran up to Squirtle and scratched it, doing a good amount of damage.

"Water Gun, Squirtle!"

"Dodge, Charmander!"

Squirtle shot another stream at Charmander, but Charmander managed to dodge this time.

"Let's beat the odds Charmander! Finish up with another Slash!"

Still dodging streams of water, Charmander rushed in and scratched Squirtle with all its strength, this time knocking Squirtle out of the battle.

"Wow, Vance," Isaac said, astounded, "that is one tough Charmander. Never seen fire beat water like that until now. Guess that just proves that even with a Water-type Pokémon, you're still not fireproof."

"Thanks, Isaac," he said as the two shook hands, "your Squirtle isn't too shabby either. And that Cyndaquil, is that from Johto?"

"Yup," Isaac said, "got it from my dad as a parting gift before coming to Kanto. I thought about traveling through Johto, but I decided to come through Kanto first. I was always a fan of Red and I wanted to take a journey just like his."

"I'm a fan of Red's too," Vance said, "and I would love to go through the Johto region one day. I know there are so many more Pokémon out there to catch. One day!"

Vance and Isaac returned to the Pokémon Center to heal up. While waiting, they discussed the new journey ahead of them. It was a big step for them at age sixteen and they knew there was a lot ahead of them, but both of them were determined to reach the goal of being the Pokémon League Champion. Isaac said he one day wanted to become a Gym Leader, even if that meant cutting his journey short by a bit. They both planned to set out for Viridian Forest the next day. They agreed it would be necessary to wait after a battle and healing because it would take nearly a whole day to navigate the entire forest. Instead, they went back out to Route 1 to train.

Just before nightfall, Vance noticed a small blue Pokémon sitting next to the pond with no arms and a light blue tail. When it turned around, Vance noticed the spiral pattern on its belly.


	4. Lightning Crashes

"Poliwag!" the small Pokémon exclaimed when it saw Vance.

"It's a Poliwag. I could use a Water-type on my team, and eventually this one evolves into Poliwrath. Alright Pidgey, come on out!"

Vance tossed a Pokéball and Pidgey emerged, ready to battle.

"Pidgey, let's do this quickly. Use Aerial Ace!"

Pidgey dove at Poliwag swiftly and knocked it over. Poliwag got to its feet and sprayed a stream of bubbles at Pidgey, giving Pidgey a good surprise.

"Let's catch this, Pidgey, use Gust!"

Pidgey flapped its wings quickly, blowing the Poliwag into a nearby tree. It was visibly weak and ready to be captured.

"Pokéball, go!" Vance tossed the ball and after a few shakes, the red light went out and Poliwag belonged to Vance.

"Nice catch, Vance," Isaac said, clapping, "Poliwag will make a great addition to your team."

"Thanks, Isaac. I look forward to using it in battle."

Isaac and Vance went back to the Pokémon Center to heal up and stay for the night, then set out for Viridian Forest in the morning. They stopped at the Pokémart on the way to pick up a few last minute items. Before they left, they were caught from behind by a young girl's voice.

"Hey, can I ask you guys a question?"

They turned around to see a beautiful girl around their age with brown hair and blue eyes. Vance was a bit starstruck, but he recovered and said "of course, what is it?"

"Are you guys going through Viridian Forest?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah, we are," Vance replied, "why do you ask?"

"I'm going through too, but I don't want to go by myself. I was wondering if I could go with you?"

Vance turned to Isaac, they both shrugged, and agreed. "I see no problems, tag along!"

"Thanks," she said, smiling, "my name is Scarlett, and you are?"

"I'm Vance."

"And I'm Isaac. It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you guys."

Vance and Scarlett stared at each other smiling for a short while, until Isaac said "Um, are we ready?" They made their way into the forest. It was very dark as the density of the trees blocked out much of the sunlight from getting through. Many bug Pokémon, including Weedle and Caterpie, dwelled in the forest. There was also another Pokémon that lived in the forest, but finding one was very rare. Vance, Isaac, and Scarlett used a map they bought at the Pokémon Center to find their way through the forest, which was a long maze that was easy to get lost in.

"I hope we don't get attacked by Beedrill," Isaac said.

"Knock it off, Isaac," Scarlett said sharply, "I'm scared enough of this place. It gives me the creeps."

"Maybe _that_ will change your mind," Vance said, looking distinctly ahead of him.

"Pika," said a small yellow mouse with red cheeks and a zigzag tail.

"Wow! A Pikachu," Scarlett exclaimed, "I'm gonna catch it!"

Scarlett pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it. "Go, Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur, a small green Pokémon with a large bulb on its back, appeared ready to battle.

"Use Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur shot out its vines and smacked Pikachu around, causing it visible pain. Pikachu responded by zapping Bulbasaur with its Thundershock.

"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!"

Bulbasaur shot sharp leaves out of its bulb, sending them flying at Pikachu, knocking it down. It struggled to get up, visibly weak.

"Pokéball, go!"

Scarlett tossed a Pokéball at Pikachu, and after a few seconds, Pikachu was hers.

"Well, dang," Isaac said, "lightning crashes right in front of us. Pikachu is pretty rare in this forest. You were pretty lucky to have come across it."

"Yup, and it has the perfect place on my team."

They continued on and were almost out of the forest, but they noticed a young girl in a panic looking around frantically.

"Hey," Vance said when they approached, "what's wrong?"

"I was in here with my Nidoran when we were attacked by a bunch of Beedrill. She tried to fight them off but wasn't able to and they took her. I can't find her anywhere!"

"We'll help," Isaac said, "Vance, you should send out Pidgey to take a look from the sky."

"Great idea, go Pidgey! We're looking for a female Nidoran taken hostage by a swarm of Beedrill, see what you can find and come back if you do."

Pidgey flew over the forest, looking for any sign of Nidoran or the Beedrill. After a long flight, it ended up in the easternmost part of the forest when it spotted Nidoran resting under a tree full of Beedrill. It quickly flew back to Vance to report its findings.

"I hope he comes back soon," Vance said, "he's been gone for a while, I hope he finds something."

Just then, Pidgey swooped down, chirping loudly.

"What'd you find, Pidge?"

"Pidge, Pidgey!" It pointed toward the area it found Nidoran, but motioned to be cautious as there were Beedrill in the area.

"Alright guys, we need a plan," Vance said.

"We could try burning them all with our Fire-types," Isaac said with confidence.

"That won't work," Scarlett said, "they'll be outnumbered. We need to sneak in and grab Nidoran, then lure them back to us so we can take them all down."

"Let's get close before we do anything," Vance said, "Pidgey, lead us there."

They followed a small path into the forest until they were within 100 yards of the tree, in which Pidgey stopped them from going any farther.

"I have an idea," Scarlett said, "I can send my Bulbasaur in there to grab Nidoran with its vines. If successful, we may make it out without waking the Beedrill. If not, we can be ready with our Pokémon."

"Sounds good to me," Isaac replied.

"Me too," Vance said, "let's give it a shot."

Bulbasaur wondered up to the tree, staying as far as it could while still being able to reach with its vines. It grabbed Nidoran and brought it in quickly, then turned to make an escape. Unfortunately, Nidoran yelped out of fear, waking up a few of the Beedrill.

"They woke up," Vance said, "ready your Pokémon!"

"Go, Cyndaquil and Squirtle!" Isaac's Cyndaquil and Squirtle came out ready.

"Charmander, Poliwag, let's do this!" Vance's Charmander and Poliwag stood ready.

"Go, Pikachu and Eevee!" Scarlett said, tossing two Pokéballs

"Eevee?!"

Both Vance and Isaac were shocked. How could a beginning Pokémon trainer have an Eevee so early on in her journey?

The Beedrill approached quickly as Bulbasaur ran as fast as it could, attempting to rescue Nidoran.

"Charmander, Ember! Poliwag, Bubblebeam!"

"Cyndaquil, Ember! Squirtle, Water Gun!"

"Pikachu, Thundershock! Eevee, Shadow Ball!"

The six Pokémon worked together, knocking down the Beedrill one by one. Bulbasaur made it back and reunited the Nidoran with its young trainer, who hugged it tighter than ever. The attack forced the Beedrill to retreat, giving the victory to Vance, Isaac, and Scarlett.

"Thank you guys so much," the young girl said, "can I follow you out of the forest?"

"Absolutely," Vance said, "although I don't suggest you ever come in here by yourself again. That was quite dangerous."

"I won't, I promise!"

They made their way out of the forest and into Pewter City. The young girl thanked them again and headed off. The trio went to the Pokémon Center to heal up and stay for the night.

Vance was eager to battle the Gym in town and win his first Gym Badge and get one step closer to his dream of winning in the Pokémon League. Another thought crossed his mind: Scarlett. He was put in a daze when he first saw her; he kept playing the scene over in his head. Long brown hair, bright blue eyes, pale skin. He knew he wanted her, but he didn't want to rush things. He also wondered how she could've gotten an Eevee so early on in her journey…


	5. No Plan B

"Mr. Cole, we await our next assignment."

Aaron Cole sat at his desk looking at Paige and Alexander, his executives, through his computer screen. They had just finished an assignment in Celadon City and were ready for their next task.

"So, you're all set up in the former Rocket Hideout?" "Yes, sir."

"Very nice, Alex. Then you guys will go to Mt. Moon in search of Clefairy and the Moon Stone."

"The Moon Stone," Alex said, "the rare stone said to have descended from space long ago?"

"Yes, that's the one. Before you go, you should make an entrance at the Mt. Moon Pokémon Center. Many people travel to explore Mt. Moon, so you're bound to get some rare Pokémon from some of the trainers there. Smoke them out, grab their Pokémon, then run for the cave. I'll have some men inside the cave, so if you get in trouble, retreat and you'll have backup if you get chased."

"Pardon me, sir."

"Yes, Paige?"

"Say we get into a battle and lose," Paige said, "then what is Plan B?"

"Lose the battle?! Don't give me that nonsense! There is no Plan B. You best not lose that battle, or we will all have to answer to Mr. Lombardi!"

Paige and Alex shuddered at this. Mr. Lombardi was a powerful man who was greatly experienced in the crime business. He helped create the Arcane Cadets, and they did not want to see him pissed off.

"Yes, sir," Paige said, "we will not let you down."

"That's more like it," Aaron said, "depart for Pewter immediately and wait for my signal to ambush the Pokémon Center near Mt. Moon. Do not do anything until I say so, understood?"

"Yes, sir," they both said.

"Very well. You are dismissed."

Aaron ended the video call with Paige and Alex and immediately made another.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Seamus, it's Aaron Cole of the Cadets."

"Hello, sir, what can I do for you?"

"What is the status of the girl?"

"She is traveling with two boys about the same age as her. They just made their way into Pewter City from the forest."

"Pewter? I just sent my two execs there on assignment. Keep an eye on her. I may wait to launch this attack until she's in the crosshairs. Thank you, Seamus."

Aaron ended the call and sat back in his chair, petting his Houndoom.

"If I launch an attack when she's in range, Mr. Lombardi will be very pleased. He will finally get his revenge on the daughter of the one that ruined him 20 years ago! And he will have me to thank for it."

...

Vance, Isaac, and Scarlett departed the Pokémon Center in the morning to do some more training before going to the Gym.

"Poliwag! Finish it with Bubblebeam!"

Vance's Poliwag shot a forceful stream of bubbles at the opponent's Beedrill, knocking it out to finish the match.

"Good job Vance," the trainer said, "your Poliwag is impressive, along with your battle techniques.

"Thanks, John," Vance said as they shook hands, "Way to go, Poliwag!"

"Poliwag!" It cheered after its victory, and then suddenly stopped. It glowed white and started to grow. Its tail went away in exchange for two arms. It looked much stronger now, making Vance excited.

"Whirl, Poliwhirl!"

"Yes! It evolved," Vance exclaimed, "Poliwhirl, awesome!"

"That helps you a lot," Scarlett said, "since Brock is a Rock-type Gym Leader. Now you have some real firepower for him."

After healing up at the Pokémon Center, they made their way to the Gym. The building was completely made of stone, attributing to Brock's use of Rock-type Pokémon. An electronic bell rang at their entrance, which summoned Brock to them.

"So, I have challengers," Brock said, "names?"

"I'm Vance."

"The name's Isaac."

"And I'm Scarlett."

"Ah Scarlett," Brock said, "I remember battling your dad 20 years ago. He was a great trainer, and I'm sure he still is. Is he doing well?"

_20 years ago, _Vance thought, _and a great trainer? What the heck is going on here?_

"Pretty well, yes. Still working hard at his trade."

"I imagine he is. He wouldn't be himself if he didn't. Now, which of you will battle first?"

They all looked at each other as if they expected the others to speak up instead. Finally, Vance stepped forward. "I'll go first, then."

"Very well, right this way."

Brock led them to the battlefield, which was covered with rocks all over. Vance took his place across the ring from Brock. Isaac and Scarlett took a set on small set of bleachers on the sidelines. A referee came out and addressed the rules of the match.

"Each trainer will use three Pokémon. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon mid-battle. There will be no time limit. Let the battle begin!"

"Go, Geodude!" Brock tossed his Pokéball and out came a Pokémon that looked like a small boulder with arms. "Geodude!"

"Alright then, go Charmander!"

"Charmander, Char!"

"I wonder," Isaac said, "he has Poliwhirl, but is he not taking the chance that it would sweep right through Brock's team?"

"Must not be," Scarlett replied, "but also remember that Charmander has Metal Claw and Pidgey has Steel Wing, both of which are strong against Rock-types."

"Charmander, use Ember to start it off!"

Charmander fired small bolts of fire at Geodude, which landed a hit, but didn't seem to shake Geodude much.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Geodude threw many small rocks at Charmander, who tried valiantly to dodge, but was unable. It was greatly weakened by the blow.

"You can do it, use Iron Tail!"

"Iron Tail?!"

Isaac and Scarlett were shocked. They didn't realize Charmander had learned Iron Tail. Charmander's tail turned shiny and it smacked Geodude head on with full force. Geodude wasn't out, but it definitely felt that hit.

"Geodude, tackle it!"

Geodude charged at Charmander and knocked it to the ground with full force. Charmander managed to get up, but was visibly weak.

"This is it, Charmander. Use Flamethrower!"

Isaac and Scarlett were yet again surprised as Charmander shot a full-power flame attack at Geodude, knocking it down for good.

"Geodude is unable to battle, Charmander is the winner!"

"Return, Geodude," Brock said, "you've done very well as always. Now, go, Larvitar!"

From the Pokéball emerged a green Pokémon about two feet tall with a long horn on it's head and looking very fierce despite being so small.

"Alright Charmander, return," Vance called, "take a break in case I need you for the end."

"So now to Poliwhirl or Pidgey?" Scarlett asked.

"Probably Pidgey," Isaac replied, "He's gonna need Poliwhirl for Brock's last Pokémon."

"Pidgey, come on out!"

Pidgey emerged and quickly locked eyes with Larvitar. Neither Pokémon wanted to go down in this battle.

"Pidgey, start it off with Gust!"

Pidgey flapped its wings, thrusting a strong wind at Larvitar, but it barely seemed to budge.

"Larvitar, use Rock Slide!"

Larvitar summoned an avalanche of rocks and sent it Pidgey's way. Pidgey dodged the best it could, but was hit by a few of the rocks and was knocked down.

_Not good, Flying-types are weak against Rock attacks._ "Pidgey, use Steel Wi-huh?"

As Pidgey stood up, it glowed white and evolved into Pidgeotto. It flew up high, its wings glowing, then struck Larvitar with the Steel Wing attack that Vance had begun to order. Larvitar fell over, clearly weakened, but managed to get back to its feet

"Larvitar, hit it with Dark Pulse!"

Larvitar's eyes turned red and the room became dim. Larvitar was sending pulses of energy toward Pidgeotto, making it suffer greatly. When the attack was over, Pidgeotto was struggling to stay airborne, and was forced to land.

"Pidgeotto, return." Vance decided that he should move on to his best Pokémon for this fight. Pidgeotto and Charmander were still available later because they were not declared to be out of the battle. "Poliwhirl, you're up!"

Poliwhirl emerged ready to battle. It had the type advantage for the rest of the battle, but that meant nothing to Brock.

"Larvitar, use Brick Break!"

Larvitar charged and was ready to hit Poliwhirl with it's small fist.

"Poliwhirl, counter with Ice Punch!"

Poliwhirl's fist became covered in ice and the two punches collided. Both Pokémon were sent flying backwards.

"Larvitar may be small, but it weighs over 100 lbs, making it hard to counter."

Still, Larvitar clearly took the worse blow. It's fist was now frozen in place, and he could make no use of it.

"Larvitar, use Dark Pulse!"

The room darkened again, but Vance was ready.

"Poliwhirl, use Bubblebeam!"

Poliwhirl shot its stream of bubbles, breaking up the waves that Larvitar was emitting.

"Let's finish this, use Mud Shot!"

Poliwhirl shot a stream of mud from its mouth, hitting Larvitar head on. It tried to recover, but could not regain its strength enough to continue.

"Larvitar is unable to battle, Poliwhirl is the winner!"

Vance and Poliwhirl cheered along with Isaac and Scarlett on the bleachers. They were down to Brock's last Pokémon, but what came next seemed unfathomable.

"Alright, Steelix, it's up to you!"


	6. Bulletproof

Steelix emerged, towering over everyone and everything in the entire gym. It could reach all the way to the ceiling of the gym, but sat lower to avoid hitting the rafters.

"What is he going to do with that?!" Scarlett exclaimed.

"He'll just have to be careful," Isaac said, "that thing is not going to take anything physical, as it's practically made of diamond. He's gonna have to make the best of his special moves and not take a hit from it."

"A reminder that the challenger is still allowed to use Pidgeotto and Charmander as they have not been declared unable to battle.

_How am I supposed to beat THAT thing? It's slow, so speed is the key, and we've all got that._ "Alright Poliwhirl, use Bubblebeam!"

Poliwhirl's Bubblebeam was effective, but Steelix was keen on using its size to move along.

"Steelix, use Iron Tail!"

Steelix swung its tail around and smacked Poliwhirl dead on, knocking it down. It managed to get up to the surprise of everyone except itself.

"So much for being careful," Isaac said sarcastically.

"Poliwhirl," Vance called, "you okay to keep going?"

"Poli," it nodded with determination.

"In that case, use Mud Shot!"

Poliwhirl jumped up and shot a stream of mud at Steelix, which seemed to weaken it a bit, but it still wasn't near going down.

"Steelix, finish it with Stone Edge!"

A blue aura appeared around Steelix, and from the aura came several pointed stones that sprung straight for Poliwhirl. It desperately tried to dodge, but it was too tired, and it was hit and knocked out.

"Poliwhirl is unable to battle, Steelix is the winner!"

"Return, Poliwhirl," Vance said, "you were great, and I'm sure your battling will help with this Steelix."

"Man, that thing is tough," Scarlett said.

"It's gonna take all three Pokémon to take it down," Isaac said, "although Charmander is the only one he has an advantage with."

"Charmander, you're up!"

Charmander appeared again, looking rested from its first battle with Geodude, but was it rested enough.

"Alright, Charmander, start it off with Flamethrower!"

Charmander ran and jumped at Steelix, shooting powerful flames out of its mouth. Steelix was clearly weakened by the blow, but still would not go down.

"Steelix, Iron Tail!"

Steelix swung its tail around and hit Charmander head on, knocking it down. It got to its feet, but was breathing very heavily.

"We can do this," Vance said, though he had his doubts, "use Flamethrower one more time."

"Steelix, use Stone Edge!"

Charmander jumped to use Flamethrower again, but Steelix managed to get its attack off despite the flames. Several pointed stones hit Charmander many times, knocking it down for the count.

"Charmander is unable to battle, Steelix is the winner!"

"Charmander return," Vance said, "you fought valiantly."

Vance was in a bind. He had to send out Pidgeotto, since it was his last Pokémon, but he was unsure of how he could beat Steelix with his Pidgeotto. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure if Pidgeotto's battle with Larvitar had weakened it too much.

"Alright, Pidgeotto, it's up to you!"

Pidgeotto looked well rested even after its battle with Larvitar. This somewhat restored Vance's confidence in his strategy, but the road ahead still proved difficult.

"Pidgeotto, this is it! Use Quick Attack!"

Pidgeotto picked up speed and slammed into Steelix, not doing much damage. Vance still did not seem worried.

"Steelix, Stone Edge! Let's end this now!"

Steelix conjured the blue aura again, ready to fire the stones at Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, you've got the speed, dodge if you can!"

The stones fired, and Pidgeotto was quick to get out of the way. One by one they honed in, but Pidgeotto was too fast for Steelix to land a hit.

"Alright, now use Aerial Ace!"

Pidgeotto flew behind Steelix and landed. Steelix turned around in confusion, at which point Pidgeotto flew up and over Steelix. Gaining speed, it dive bombed at Steelix as fast as it could and slammed into it at full power. To everyone's astonishment, Steelix was knocked over. Pidgeotto then landed back on Vance's side of the field, breathing heavily.

_Stay down, _Vance thought, _I know that was our only shot._

Steelix attempted to bring its head up, but after a long struggle, finally collapsed again and could not get up.

"Steelix is unable to battle, Pidgeotto is the winner! The match goes to Vance!"

Pidgeotto fell over after the declaration, tired but joyful nevertheless.

"You did an amazing job, Pidgeotto," Vance said, "take a rest. You'll be resting at the Pokémon center in a few minutes."

"Great job Vance!"

He looked up to see Scarlett running to him, eventually landing in his arms in a tight hug. Vance's heart leapt in his chest at this.

"You were amazing," she said, "I've never seen anything like that!"

"Yeah, man, you rocked it," Isaac added with a high fist bump, "that Pidgeotto of yours is something."

"Thanks guys, it means a lot."

"Steelix, return," Brock said, disappointed, "you did great, knocking two Pokémon out, but the better trainer won today."

Vance looked over when he heard this to a smile from Brock.

"This has been one of the best battles I ever fought, Vance. I have never been taken down by a flying Pokémon like that before. As proof of your victory, take the Boulderbadge. This gets you one step closer to your dream of becoming a Pokémon master."

"Thank you Brock," Vance said, "this means a lot to me."

"So, did anyone else come for a battle?" Brock asked.

"I did," Scarlett and Isaac said at the same time.

"Wow, okay then. We'll go heal at the Pokémon Center and then we can have our battle."

After healing at the Pokémon Center, Brock had battles with Isaac and Scarlett. Isaac's Squirtle managed to defeat Geodude and Larvitar, but was knocked out by Steelix despite doing a good amount of damage. Cyndaquil came in and finished the battle, giving Isaac the win. Scarlett used Pikachu and it's Iron Tail to defeat Geodude, while Eevee took down Larvitar with a strong Shadow Ball. Steelix took both of them down, but Bulbasaur managed to use its Vine Whip to tie up Steelix, and after using a strong Energy Ball, the Boulderbadge belonged to Scarlett.

"You've all been very impressive today," Brock told them after the last battle, "and because of this, we must train even harder. No matter how tough Steelix is, we'll never be bulletproof. You guys fought very hard today, and for that I congratulate you. Good luck on your journeys; I know one of you will become the Champion one day."

"Thanks, Brock," they all said as the left the Gym.

"So, where do we go now?" Scarlett asked.

"Mt. Moon," Vance said, "we have to go through there to get to Cerulean City."

They stayed at the Pokémon Center in Pewter, with plans to head off to Mt. Moon in the morning.


	7. Bully

Vance, Isaac, and Scarlett set out for Mt. Moon in the morning. They walked down Routes 3 and 4, each defeating one trainer along the way. After a bit of training on the wild Pokémon in the area, they went into the Pokémon Center just before the entrance to Mt. Moon.

"That was some good training," Vance said, "I can't wait to get through Mt. Moon so I can win my second badge."

"Wow," Scarlett said, "someone's quite excited to get going."

"Are you kidding? Of course I am! My Pokémon are in top shape and raring to get stronger."

"After that battle with Brock," Isaac said, "I think you're ready for just about anything."

After their Pokémon were healed, they ordered some food and sat at a table to eat.

"So next up is Cerulean City," Vance said, "home to the water-type gym leader."

"Well that's good," Scarlett said, "Pikachu and Bulbasaur will do very well there."

"Better watch out Vance," Isaac said, "Charmander isn't going to be the best choice there."

"Just remember, that Charmander also beat your Squirtle."

"Touché. I'll keep my mouth shut now."

They finished their meals and were about to head out for Mt. Moon, but there was a sudden disturbance that prevented them from doing so.

"Go Koffing! Smoke 'em out!"

Out of nowhere, a trainer in a raven-colored suit with a large 'A' printed on it tossed a Pokéball, revealing a Koffing. Before anyone knew it, the Pokémon Center was filled with smoke, and people we're having their Pokémon stolen.

"Oh no you don't! Pidgeotto, get 'em! Whirlwind this smoke away!"

Vance's Pidgeotto came out and blew away all of the smoke, revealing the two criminals, a young man and woman, having taken many of the Pokémon.

"No you don't, brat," the woman said, "Koffing, use Sludge!" Koffing spat out streams of toxic sludge at Pidgeotto.

"Dodge it Pidgeotto, and use Aerial Ace!" Pidgeotto dodged Koffing's sludge balls and gathered great speed. It hit Koffing straight on, sending it flying into the wall.

"Oh no you don't," said the man, "Go Nidorino! Help Koffing out!"

"Not so fast," Isaac interjected, "If you're gonna get involved, so am I. Go Squirtle!"

Isaac's Squirtle faced Nidorino ready to fight. "Squirtle, use Water Pulse!" Squirtle jumped and shot a stream of pulsing water at Nidorino, landing a direct hit. Nidorino was clearly dazed; it seemed to not be sure where it was or what was going on.

"Oh no, not confusion," the man said with a worried sigh, "Nidorino! Horn Attack!"

Nidorino looked around, but couldn't seem to get its bearings.

"Koffing," the girl said, "get back in there! Use Shock Wave!" Koffing charged with electricity and shot a lightning bolt at Pidgeotto."

"Pidgeotto, dodge it! That's gonna hurt!"

Pidgeotto made a great effort to dodge, but the powerful attack landed a direct hit, knocking Pidgeotto out of the battle.

"Return, Pidgeotto," Vance said, calling his bird Pokémon back to its ball, "you did a great job. Isaac's Squirtle can finish this."

"Squirtle! We can do this! Use another Water Pulse, this time on Koffing!" Squirtle shot another pulsing stream at Koffing, landing a hit and knocking it out of the battle.

"Koffing, return! Alex, it's all up to you."

"Right," Alex said, "it's just you and me kid. Go Nidorino! Use Horn Attack!"

Nidorino was back to battle form and ran at Squirtle with great speed. Leading with its horn, it lunged at Squirtle and landed a direct hit.

"Squirtle! Are you okay?"

Squirtle got to its feet slowly, turned around, and gave Isaac a thumbs up.

"Alright! We've got this.. Finish it with Ice Beam!"

Squirtle shot a beam out of its mouth that dealt a chilling blow to Nidorino. It was down for the count, giving Vance and Isaac the victory.

"Make a break for it," the woman said as they bolted for the door with the Pokéballs.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip! Grab those bags!"

Out of nowhere, Scarlett hurled a Pokéball and Bulbasaur appeared. It grabbed the bags with its vines and pulled them back to the trio. As this happened, the two criminals got away before anyone else could react.

"Who are they," Isaac asked, "and what is their purpose?"

"They are Alexander and Paige, two of the Arcane Cadets," said an unfamiliar voice from behind them.

They turned around to a man a little taller than them who appeared to be a few years older.

"Now, if I may rephrase, who are _you?_"

"I'm Jacob, Jacob Dawson. I've been on these guys for a while now. They've been up to no good all over the place. Not just these two either; there's a whole gang of them across this region into Johto and even some in Hoenn and Sinnoh."

"They're in Johto too?!" Isaac asked frantically.

"Yeah, sadly. I don't know where they got started, they just kind of popped up. But you guys fought them off valiantly. Pidgeotto and Squirtle, huh? They were very impressive, especially in an impromptu battle with a lot on the line. What are your names?"

"I'm Isaac, the one with the Squirtle. And that's Vance, with the Pidgeotto."

"That's me. Nice to meet you, Jacob."

"Same to you, Vance," Jacob said, "And this pretty girl would be?"

"Scarlett, sir," she said with a blush. Vance scowled at Jacob's remark.

"Well, you three keep and eye out for the Arcane Cadets. They've been all over, and we don't quite know what they want or where they're based out of. We can't let them run free and bully everyone in Kanto. I'm going to keep looking, but I hope to see you all again someday soon."

Jacob departed swiftly, while the trio made sure everyone in the center was ok, distributing the stolen Pokémon back to their rightful owners. Nurse Joy thanked them for fighting off the two Cadets and the help with the trainers, offering them a free meal. They took the offer, deciding to put off going to Mt. Moon for another day.

"That was an intense battle," Isaac said, "those guys were tough, but we beat 'em!"

"We did," Vance said in a low tone, "but I'm starting to realize this is going to be much tougher than I anticipated…"


	8. Bat Country

"How could you guys fail?!"

Aaron was yelling on a video call with Paige and Alexander.

"We ambushed them," Alexander said, "but a couple of kids were able to fight us off."

"You guys should've been better," Aaron said, red with anger, "you have been training for a long time. I can't believe this happened! I should fire your asses right now!"

"We let you down, sir," Paige said, "if you wish, we will leave your service."

"Nonsense," Aaron said, "I still need something from both of you. Go into Mt. Moon and get those Moon Stones. They are an important part of our plan."

"Anything else, sir?" Alexander asked.

"That is all. Do NOT come back without those stones, or you will be fired."

"Yes, sir!" they both said, and Aaron ended the call.

"Those kids are probably on their way if not already in Mt. Moon by now. They better not foil this plan we have, or there will be trouble, especially if we are to continue to have support from Mr. Lombardi."

…

After the incident with the Arcane Cadets, Vance was clearly shaken up. He wasn't scared, but he was disappointed. He hadn't lost a battle before, and while he still technically won, he realized that he would need to put more effort into his battling if he was going to be successful.

"Vance," Scarlett said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "are you ok? You've been very quiet ever since the police left."

"I'm fine," he said sternly.

"No, you're not," Isaac said, "I can tell. You're never this quiet. Something's bothering you, now what is it?"

"That battle. I hadn't lost one yet, and I just did. I was caught off guard, and I wasn't good enough."

"Losing one Pokémon isn't the end of the world," Isaac said, "If you fought with two of your Pokémon, you would've beaten them easily."

"But I didn't, and that's what matters."

"Snap out of it! Squirtle couldn't win that battle without your Pidgeotto's Aerial Ace on Koffing! It would've been a nightmare otherwise. Squirtle's great, but it had help. Don't be so down on yourself. Besides, it still counts as a win for you since I didn't lose. No official losses yet."

They finally coaxed Vance out of his depression, and after a night at the Pokémon Center, departed for Mt. Moon.

"Just be careful when we go in," Isaac said, "It's a bat country in there."

"Bat country?" Scarlett asked.

"Zubats," Vance said, "they're all over this damned cave."

They walked in and the cave had some artificial lights strung up inside it. It was very dim, but those lights helped them to see at least a little bit.

"Anyone gonna catch anything in here?" Isaac asked.

"I wouldn't mind a Zubat," Scarlett said, "Crobat is a really cool Pokémon."

"The next Pokémon I'm catching is just outside of here," Vance said, "we should find it just before Cerulean City."

Just then, a Zubat appeared in front of them to the joy of Scarlett.

"Alright, there it is! Go, Pikachu!"

Pikachu appeared ready to battle.

"Alright Pikachu, use a Thundershock!"

Pikachu sent a jolt of lightning that zapped Zubat into weakness. It flew up and tried to dive at Pikachu, but missed completely.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu ran, jumped, and slammed into Zubat, knocking it down for good.

"Alright, now time for the Pokéball!"

Scarlett tossed the Pokéball, and after shaking a few times, Zubat was hers.

"Awesome catch," Vance said with a smile, "Pikachu really did well there."

"Thanks Vance," Scarlett said, "this will be an awesome Pokémon."

They made their way through the cave, finding Zubat after Zubat, occasionally coming across Geodude and Paras. The wild Pokémon made for good training, especially for Scarlett's Pikachu. When they were close to the end, they spotted something shining on the ground nearby.

"What is this?" Vance said, picking up a small, black rock.

"That's a Moon Stone," Isaac said, "those are really rare. They are said to evolve the rare Pokémon Clefairy into Clefable."

"Wow," Scarlett said in awe, "you should hold on to that, Vance."

"Too bad you're gonna have it taken from you!"

The trio turned around to see Paige and Alexander ready to attack.

"Not this again," Vance said.

"Hand that Moon Stone over or pay for it," Alexander said.

"Not a chance," Vance replied, "you'll have to fight me for it!"

"Tough guy," Paige said mockingly, "alright then, go Koffing!"

"Go, Nidorino!" Alexander and Paige threw their Pokéballs, revealing the same Pokémon as the previous battle.

"Alright, Poliwhirl, you're up!" Vance tossed his Pokéball and revealed Poliwhirl.

"And for this one I'll choose-"

"Isaac, it's my turn," Scarlett said, stepping in front of him, "Pikachu, let's do this!"

"Well _that_ was rude," Isaac jeered, to which Scarlett shot him a scowl.

"Too bad this match will be over quick," Paige said, "Koffing, Smokescreen now!"

Koffing's smoke filled the entire cave, making it nearly impossible to see or breathe.

"Nidorino, knock the Moon Stone out of his hand!"

Nidorino charged at Vance and managed to dislodge the stone with it's horn. It picked it up with its mouth and ran with it, Paige, Alexander, and Koffing not far behind.

"Pidgeotto, blow this smoke away!"

Vance's Pidgeotto appeared and gusted away the smoke, but the pair of Cadets was already out of sight.

"They didn't even try to battle," Isaac said, "they just got in, grabbed what they needed, and got out. They played it smarter this time."

"We're going to get them," Vance said, "when we find them again, because I'm sure we will, we're going to take them down and bring them back with us to the next town. I know it's only been two attacks so far, but this madness is going to stop. No more putting people through hell to achieve some riches. I'm going to do this the right way."

They made their way out of the cave, Vance leading in a fury of anger. He had been outdone twice by this group of criminals, and he surely wasn't going to let it happen again.


	9. Walk on the Water

Upon leaving the cave, the trio came across a small field with some Pokémon wandering about. Among those was a Sandshrew, a golden-colored mouse with a short snout that stood on two legs. Vance saw this as a great opportunity to add to his team.

"Sandshrew is an awesome Pokémon," Isaac said, "it's a Ground-type that can learn quickness and agility better than most others."

"That is why I'll be after it," Vance replied, holding a Pokéball in his hand. He was still bitter from his scuffle with the Arcane Cadets.

"Poliwhirl, you're up!"

Poliwhirl came ready to battle as usual.

"Ice Shard, here we go!"

Shards of ice sharp as glass shot at Sandshrew, landing a direct hit. Sandshrew responded with a Slash attack that was fairly effective.

"Bubblebeam, let's get this Pokémon!"

Poliwhirl shot its usual stream of bubbles at Sandshrew, causing it to be knocked down. It was looking really tired.

"Pokéball, go!"

The Pokéball encapsulated Sandshrew, and after a few shakes, the light went out and it belonged to Vance.

"Sandshrew's a great Pokémon," Isaac said, "too bad it's not gonna help against Misty."

"I won't need it. Pidgeotto can take care of it. If not Pidgeotto, Poliwhirl. But Sandshrew will be useful soon enough."

Without another word, Vance marched on. Anger was still burning through his skin.

"He is obviously still edgy," Isaac said, "he needs to cool off a bit or he's gonna pop."

"Don't expect that," Scarlett said, "at least until after he battles Misty."

The trio continued on to the Pokémon Center, where they would heal up and also report the attack from the Arcane Cadets. They then departed for their ultimate destination: The Cerulean Gym. The gym was located on the east side of town. It was very ornate on the outside, including having a large Dewgong statue placed on top. Inside, the first thing they saw was a large aquarium filled with Water-type Pokémon. They walked around for a bit until the saw a sign that pointed them upstairs to the gym. When they walked in, Misty was sitting on the edge on the pool with her feet in the water. She stood up and smiled when she saw the trio.

"Ah, some challengers. Welcome to the Cerulean Gym! I'm Misty."

"Hello Misty! I'm Vance."

"Isaac here."

"And I'm Scarlett!"

"Very nice to meet you all! I heard from Brock that you guys would be heading this way. He said you were all very impressive against his Steelix. But this is different - Water-type Pokémon are much quicker and utilize many different strategies. You guys will all have to be on your toes in this battle. So, who's up first?"

"I'll go," Vance said firmly.

"Very well, Vance," Misty said, "three Pokémon each, sound good?"

"You got it!"

"We will walk on the water en route to our victory!"

They walked over and took their places on the battlefield, which was an enormous pool of water with two risen platforms in the water for Pokémon to stand on. A referee came out when they were ready and stated the rules of the match.

"Each trainer will use three Pokémon. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon mid-battle. There will be no time limit. Let the battle begin!"

"Alright, Seadra, start it off!"

Misty tossed a Pokéball in the water, which opened to reveal Seadra, a seahorse Pokémon about 4 feet tall. It had a stern look, ready for a battle.

_Seadra, huh? Better think carefully about this one. _Vance grabbed a Pokéball, thought carefully, and confirmed his choice.

"Poliwhirl, you're up!"

Poliwhirl stood on the platform looking down at Seadra. It then dove in the water and prepared to battle.

"Fighting water with water? Interesting. But it won't be enough! Seadra, Dragon Pulse!"

Seadra shot a turquoise ball of energy toward Poliwhirl, which landed a direct hit. Poliwhirl shook off the attack and pressed forward.

"Poliwhirl, use Mud Shot!"

Poliwhirl shot a stream of mud out of its mouth straight at Seadra, hitting Seadra right on its head. It was a bit shook up, but kept on going.

"Seadra, use Ice Beam!"

Seadra shot a beam of ice at Poliwhirl, which landed a hit and slowed Poliwhirl down a little bit. It still was able to battle and was ready to do so.

"Shake off the cold, Poliwhirl. Dive underwater!"

Poliwhirl dove underwater and waited for Vance's command.

"Trying to sneak up on us? Seadra, go look for it!"

"Poliwhirl, Brick Break, quickly!"

Seadra dove under to look for Poliwhirl, and spotted it. Poliwhirl came up with great speed and landed a punch straight on, sending Seadra flying out of the water. Seadra swam up to the top, but was struggling to stay afloat.

"Seadra, try another Dragon Pulse!"

Seadra shot another pulse of energy at Poliwhirl, but it was clear that Seadra was getting tired. The attack launched weak and Poliwhirl took it without any problem.

"Poliwhirl, finish strong! Mud Shot!"

Poliwhirl finished Seadra with a stream of mud landing a direct hit, leaving Seadra floating weakly on the water.

"Seadra is unable to battle, Poliwhirl is the winner!"

Poliwhirl jumped out of the water and stood on the platform next to Vance. Vance embraced him with a high five.

"Return, Seadra. You battled very valiantly. Now, Gyarados, it's your turn!"

Misty tossed a Pokéball in the water. What emerged was a gigantic sea dragon that was about the same size as the Steelix Vance had battled earlier. Still, he figured this would be a bit easier to take down, considering it didn't have a body made of steel.

"Poliwhirl, you've been great. Take a break, I'll probably need you later. Now, Pidgeotto, you're up next!"

Pidgeotto appeared, flew around the arena, then landed on the platform in front of Vance. It faced Gyarados, determined to take it down despite its large size.

"Alright Pidgeotto, start off with Aerial Ace!"

Pidgeotto swooped in with great speed, ready to charge into Gyarados.

"Gyarados, dive underwater!"

Gyarados dove underwater quickly, leaving Pidgeotto to have to stop itself from slamming into the wall behind it. It hovered in place, not sure what to do.

"Stay up high, it's chances of landing a hard hit are lesser the more it has to jump."

Misty laughed at this remark. "Gyarados, Aqua Tail now!"

Gyarados flew out of the water with great speed and slammed its tail, which had a whirlpool spiraling around it, into Pidgeotto, and despite the great height, it still managed a strong hit. Pidgeotto was knocked down, but it managed to recover before falling in the water. It flew up and shook off the tough hit.

_This Gyarados is no joke. We'll just have to hit faster. _"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!"

Pidgeotto flew in with great speed and slammed into Gyarados before anyone else could utter another word.

"Speedy Gonzalez, eh? Alright then, Ice Beam Gyarados!"

Gyarados shot a beam of ice at a swiftly dodging Pidgeotto, managing a hit on it's left wing. Pidgeotto was hurt by the cold, but flapped quickly to try to shake it off.

_Ice works strongly against Flying-types. Gotta watch out for that._ "Pidgeotto, go for Aerial Ace again!"

Pidgeotto built up speed, again preparing to charge into Gyarados.

"Again? Gyarados, underwater!"

"Dive after it Pidgeotto!"

Instead of going straight on, Pidgeotto made a beeline for the water's surface. Just before Gyarados could get under, Pidgeotto slammed into it, and though it got quite a bit wet, Gyarados took quite a shot in it's mid-section. Pidgeotto landed on the platform and shook its feathers off to dry. Gyarados swam back up, but was clearly getting tired.

"Clever strategy, but this still isn't over. Gyarados, use Thunderbolt!"

Vance knew this was bad news. Not only was Thunderbolt powerful against Pidgeotto, but its power would be even greater due to the fact that Pidgeotto was still wet.

"Pidgeotto, do everything you can to dodge the attack!"

Gyarados shot bolts of lightning all over the arena, but Pidgeotto managed to dodge them. Finally, one of the bolts hit Pidgeotto, weakening it quite a bit. It was forced to land and take a breather.

"Looks like your bird is getting tired."

"Don't get cocky, Gyarados isn't exactly full of stamina either."

Both Pokémon were panting heavily, yet neither one of them was ready to fall just yet.


	10. Feet in the Water

"We have the Moon Stones, sir," Paige said, "We ran into the kids who had one, but we managed to take it from them, smoke them out, and get away before they could find us."

"Excellent work," Aaron said, "we can now begin pricing and get these things sold for major riches. Now, what is the status of the girl?"

"Still traveling with those boys," Alex said, "they were on their way to Cerulean as we suspected. We're still waiting for the appropriate moment to attack. So far these two boys have been too cautious for us to successfully do anything."

"That's ok," Aaron said, "we must be patient. Our time will come, and we can't force anything or we'll be in trouble."

"So where's our next assignment?" Alex asked.

"Take a break for now. I have some other things lined up but I need to make sure I'm ready to go ahead with them. Check back in two or three days."

Aaron ended the video call and immediately made another.

"Hello, Aaron."

"Hello Seamus. So the girl is probably in Cerulean by now. I say we go ahead with our plan once she reaches Vermillion. That's where the next badge will be, so they'll definitely be heading that way."

"Sounds like a good plan. I'll get everything ready in Vermillion. Anything else I should know."

"No, just let me know when you're ready and I'll send Alex and Paige your way. They currently are unassigned until you are ready."

"Fair enough, thanks for the help."

Aaron ended the phone call and grinned. He knew he had a good plan this time.

…

Pidgeotto flew up and hovered in the air, showing that it was still strong enough to battle. Gyarados continued to pant, but was not about to go down easily.

"Alright Pidgeotto," Vance called to his Pokémon, "it's getting tired. Let's finish this and get you some rest! Aerial Ace now!"

Pidgeotto gained speed and flew in at Gyarados, bracing itself for a finishing blow.

"Gyarados, get underwater and dodge!"

Misty's pleas would be in vein, for Gyarados was too tired and could not get away fast enough. Pidgeotto slammed into Gyarados at full power, knocking it down onto the platform. It struggled to right itself, but it could not gain its balance and was down for good.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, Pidgeotto is the winner!"

Pidgeotto landed on Vance's shoulder and looked relieved. It was clearly in need of a rest after the fierce battle with Gyarados.

"Great battle, bud. Take a break, you deserve it. And if her next Pokémon is any good, you're gonna need it."

"So you got me down to my last one," Misty said, holding her final Pokéball, "but this one has been my companion for my entire career and will not go down easily. Now, Misty calls Starmie!"

Starmie appeared this time on the platform instead of in the water like her previous Pokémon. It was a purple colored double star Pokémon with a red gem in the center.

_Starmie is really strong. Pidgeotto needs to rest before it can do anymore battling. Charmander and Sandshrew are both weak to water, and Sandshrew hasn't even seen a trainer battle yet. I guess I know where I'll start._

"Poliwhirl, you're up again!"

Poliwhirl appeared looking ready to battle once more. It didn't seem to be fatigued from its battle with Seadra, but after the rest, it would be difficult to tell at first glance.

"Back to Poliwhirl? Alright, Starmie, start it off with Rapid Spin!"

Starmie jumped and started spinning very rapidly and charged into Poliwhirl, knocking it over.

"Poliwhirl, Mud Shot!"

As Starmie was still spinning, Poliwhirl shot a mud stream at Starmie, knocking it off balance and into the water. It swam up and still looked ready to battle.

"Ice Beam, Starmie!"

Starmie shot a beam of ice from the tip of its top point. The attack hit Poliwhirl and slowed it down a bit.

_If it slows Poliwhirl down, I'm in trouble. It moves really fast._ "Poliwhirl, use your own Ice Beam!"

Poliwhirl jumped and returned the favor to Starmie, landing a direct hit on the red gem. Starmie felt the cold, but still kept moving at a decent speed.

"Starmie, use Thunderbolt!"

_Not again…_

Starmie shot bolts of lightning toward Poliwhirl, who desperately tried to dodge. Despite the effort, one of the bolts hit Poliwhirl, knocking it down into the water.

"Poliwhirl, can you get up?"

Poliwhirl swam to the surface and climbed on the platform. It was tired, but still willing to give it one last shot.

"Man, I have a team of gutsy Pokémon. Alright, Poliwhirl. Ice Beam again. We gotta slow it down!"

Poliwhirl used more ice and landed a hit on Starmie, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first hit. Starmie was still moving at a decent pace and looked to finish Poliwhirl.

"Thunderbolt one more time!"

Starmie's Thunderbolt hit its mark this time as Poliwhirl could not get away. It was down and not getting back up.

"Poliwhirl is unable to battle, Starmie is the winner!"

"Poliwhirl, you battled with a lot of guts today. Good job beating Seadra. We'll get this win for you."

"So, Vance, starting to realize this battle is far from over?"

He was. With only a tired Pidgeotto and two Pokémon weak to water, he didn't see a pretty ending for this battle.

"So he's down to his tired bird and two water weaknesses," Scarlett said, "and this Starmie is certainly no joke."

"He has to come up with a plan," Isaac replied, "he'll just have to out smart her, even if it does mean giving her a type advantage."

_Pidgeotto has to come out, but I don't know if it can survive long after that fierce battle with Gyarados. So that leaves this question: Who stands a better chance, Charmander or Sandshrew?_

Vance then made a decision that surprised everyone.

"Go, Sandshrew!"

Isaac and Scarlett stood in shock at his decision. Misty was confused, but looked confident that she would knock it out quick due to its disadvantage.

"Vance," Isaac called, "is there a reason you're sending a Pokémon you just caught into a battle against a much stronger Pokémon with a type disadvantage?"

"Sometimes, you have to take some risks," Vance lied.

_I'm just buying time, but she can't know that. I need this battle to draw out as long as possible, and I think Sandshrew has the speed to keep up for a while to get Pidgeotto some more rest._

Vance took out his Pokédex to check on Sandshrew's moves, and saw something that made his eyes widen. He then grinned and put his Pokédex away.

"Sandshrew, show me what you're made of!"

"Starmie, use Water Pulse!"

Starmie shot a stream of water with what looked like sonic waves at Sandshrew.

"Sandshrew, dodge it if you can!"

Sandshrew ran and jumped very swiftly, getting out of the way without trouble.

_I knew I made the right choice._

"Now, use Slash!"

Sandshrew lunged at Starmie, who was now closer since it attacked, and slashed it straight on. Starmie attempted to dodge, but Sandshrew was too fast for it to react.

"Starmie, Ice Beam now!"

Starmie shot a stream of ice at Sandshrew, who managed to dodge, but Starmie fired again and landed a hit on Sandshrew's foot. Sandshrew was in some noticeable pain, but insisted on continuing on.

"Sandshrew, let's go! Iron Tail!"

Sandshrew jumped a considerable height despite its recent foot hindrance, and slammed its shiny tail into Starmie, knocking it down.

"Starmie, use another Water Pulse!"

Starmie shot its water, but Vance was ready.

"Dodge it Sandshrew, and use X-scissor!"

"X-scissor?!"

Both Isaac and Scarlett were astonished as Sandshrew managed to dodge the water and with its glowing claws, slash Starmie dead center in an X formation. Starmie stumbled and was clearly hurt by this attack.

"Bug-type attacks do well against Psychic-type Pokémon," Vance said with a smirk, "the tables have turned, Misty."

"Starmie, let's finish this little rat. Ice Beam now!"

Starmie used all of its strength to get after Sandshrew, and when it caught up to it, fired ice straight at it, knocking it into the water. It swam to the surface frantically and managed to get to the platform, but as it tried to get its strength, it collapsed and was unable to stand back up.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle, Starmie is the winner!"

Vance walked over and picked Sandshrew up, smiling. "You were amazing. I had no idea what to expect, and even though it wasn't a victory in the books you still won the real fight: you gave it your all and fought valiantly. If we beat this Starmie, its because of you."

"That was quite a battle, Vance. I never thought a Sandshrew would be able to hurt my Starmie as much as it has."

_I didn't either, but that's what I needed._ "Alright Pidgeotto, it's time to finish this battle!"

Pidgeotto appeared and hovered over the water, looking much better after a long rest. Starmie was panting, at least whatever it looked like for a starfish to be panting.

"Alright Starmie, use Thunderbolt!"

_Of course, start off with me having to flee._

Starmie was shooting lightning all over the field, leaving Pidgeotto desperately dodging to stay alive.

"Pidgeotto, knock off balance with a Gust!"

Pidgeotto flapped its wings and with a powerful gust, knocked Starmie off balance from using its attack.

"Ice Beam!"

Starmie was clearly getting tired, especially after the X-scissor. It shot an Ice Beam at Pidgeotto, but it failed to hit its mark.

"Finish this up with Aerial Ace!"

Pidgeotto used all of its remaining strength to gain speed and catch up to Starmie. It then charged into it head first, knocking it down into the water. When it floated up, it wasn't moving, and its red gem was flashing on and off, indicating that it could no longer battle.

"Starmie is unable to battle, Pidgeotto is the winner. The match goes to Vance!"

Vance fell to his knees in amazement at his victory. He was still in shock of his newly acquired Sandshrew's performance.

"Vance, you battled amazingly today. I haven't seen such a good strategy in quite a long time. You also have some of the gutsiest Pokémon I've ever seen. As a result, I award you with this Cascadebadge."

Misty presented him with a badge that looked just like a raindrop.

"Thank you Misty. You were definitely a worthy opponent. That Starmie of yours is extremely strong."

Though this was the toughest battle he had been in yet, Vance knew he was only dipping his feet in the water. Literally.


	11. The Wait is Over

"Feeling any better Vance?" Scarlett asked.

"Much better," he replied, "an intense battle was what I needed to get my frustrations out."

"I knew it," Isaac said, "there's nothing like a tough battle to make a trainer feel better."

The group was currently making their way to Vermillion City to the south. Isaac and Scarlett had just earned their Cascadebadges as well. Isaac started with Squirtle, who managed to defeat Seadra, but switched to his Mareep (which neither Scarlett or Vance knew he had) and lit up Gyarados like fireworks. For Starmie, he switched back to Squirtle, who lost after a hard battle, but then Mareep managed to finish Starmie with a Thunderbolt.

Scarlett won handily, beating Seadra with her Bulbasaur and Gyarados with her Pikachu. For Starmie, she switched back to Bulbasaur, who was eventually done in by an Ice Beam. Pikachu's speed proved useful and, again with a Thunderbolt, defeated Starmie to win her badge.

The group reached Vermilion City to find a disturbing news report on the television in the Pokémon Center.

"A group of teens were held up in Celadon City last evening, being robbed of all their Pokémon and many of their items. 'I tried to unmask the robber, but he got away. They wore black clothes with a mysterious red symbol on them. The only thing left behind was a note that said _The Wait is Over_ stamped with the initials GTR on it.' The robbery is being investigated, and police are already suspecting that a former crime lord may be behind this recent attack, but no such accusation can be confirmed at this time."

"That's interesting," Isaac said, "a mysterious red symbol and GTR on the note? The Arcane Cadets either have competition or help, but it's hard to decide which."

"Hired help," Scarlett added, "that doesn't seem like the type of attack that the Cadets would go for. They're a worldwide crime organization. Why would they need hired help?"

"Element of surprise, perhaps," Vance chimed, "although I can't imagine who they're trying to surprise. _The Wait is Over_. Who's waiting and why? And what are they waiting for?"

Questions continued to rise around the Pokémon Center until another trainer walked in. Vance glanced over and noticed something familiar about him. Slicked back hair, leather jacket, and a smirk on his face as he walked by. Then it came to him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't old Vance and the kids."

"Bryce?! What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Training of course! I got my Pokémon and I'm raring to keep going. Wanna see the team?"

Bryce opened his Pokéballs to reveal four Pokémon: Beedrill, Geodude, Golbat, and Wartortle. Vance stared in shock at this team. He couldn't believe that Bryce was out training, and he certainly couldn't believe the team that stood before his eyes.

"So, Vance, what have you got?"

Vance released his Pokémon: Sandshrew, Poliwhirl, Pidgeotto, and Charmander.

"Ha! You haven't even evolved your starter yet? This is nonsense. I could wipe the floor with this team. How about it?"

"You're on," Vance said, "this team is tried and true, and don't forget it."

They behind the Pokémon Center, where there was a small training area for battles like these.

"Four on four, no time limit, switching allowed," Bryce proclaimed, "any questions before we begin, child?"

"Yes actually," Vance said, "why don't you calm down a little?"

"Because I know what I'm doing."

"I'll be the referee for this fight," Isaac said, "I declare a silent opener. Each trainer give me your first Pokéball and I will release it. This way nobody will get the advantage of choosing second."

Both trainers decided carefully and agreed to their opening Pokémon. Isaac tossed the Pokéballs, revealing the choices.

"Golbat and Pidgeotto!"

The two Flying-types hovered above the ground, ready to battle for their trainers.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Golbat, start it off with Supersonic!"

Golbat's eyes glowed and it started to emit waves of energy toward Pidgeotto.

"Fly up Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto flew up, but one of the waves must've reached its mark, as Pidgeotto started to fly very off-balance. It was forced to land and seemed to be bobbling its head.

"Pidgeotto, return!"

"Calling it off already, Vance?"

"Are you kidding? It's one Pokémon! Go, Poliwhirl!"

Poliwhirl appeared ready to go again.

"Poliwhirl, Bubblebeam!"

Poliwhirl shot an intense stream of bubbles at Golbat, landing a decent hit. Golbat flew up and was ready for Bryce's command.

"Golbat, use Air Cutter!"

Golbat flapped its wings and sent a sharp, razor-like wind at Poliwhirl, which landed a direct hit. Poliwhirl was visibly in pain while taking the hit, but shook it off and was ready to go.

"Alright Poliwhirl, it's time. Ice Punch!"

Poliwhirl jumped, and with a fist emitting ice from it, landed a straight-arm punch right between Golbat's eyes. Golbat fell to the ground and was unable to regain it's strength to fly.

"Golbat is unable to battle, Poliwhirl is the victor!"

"Return, Golbat," Bryce called, holding his Pokéball, "not bad. But I will continue. Beedrill, you're up!"

Bryce's Beedrill reminded Vance of the incident in Viridian Forest a few days back. Still, he knew that a trained Beedrill would not harm people, so his worry subsided, even after a bit of shuddering.

"Beedrill, let's not waste anytime. Poison Jab!"

Beedrill swooped in; its barbs turned a purplish color and with great speed it stabbed Poliwhirl right in the gut. Poliwhirl was down and struggling to keep its focus.

"Poliwhirl, are you ok?"

It stood up, but could not keep its balance. Vance intervened.

"Poliwhirl, return. Isaac, I'm withdrawing it from the battle."

"Vance has forfeited Poliwhirl's battle, therefore, Beedrill is the victor!"

Each of them had one Pokémon down, but the battle was just beginning.

"Charmander, you're up!"

Charmander came out, and was more ready than ever. It had been quite some time since Charmander had seen a battle, and it was ready to win another.

"Charmander, use Iron Tail!"

Charmander jumped, and with a glowing tail, swung at Beedrill. It flew up, but Charmander managed to hit its legs, knocking it off balance.

"Alright Beedrill, we got this. Use Brick Break!"

Beedrill came swooping down, readying itself with a swinging, almost uppercut motion.

"Stand in Charmander!"

Beedrill was bearing down, ready to hit Charmander. But at the last moment…

"Charmander, Flamethrower!"

At this command, Beedrill attempted to fly over Charmander, but there was no escape. Charmander's flames engulfed Beedrill completely, and the bee Pokémon was knocked out of the air. With many black marks on it, Beedrill was not going to be able to get up after the hit.

"Beedrill is unable to battle, Charmander is the victor!"

"Beedrill, return," Bryce called angrily, and said to the Pokéball "one win is not enough."

He then pulled out his next Pokéball and tossed it.

"Or maybe it was. With no Poliwhirl, this will be a breeze. Go, Geodude."


	12. This Time It's Different

"_The Wait is Over,_" Aaron said, "is this the sign we have been waiting for, Seamus?"

"It has to be," Seamus replied on the video, "The master has returned. The darkness of old is coming to light once again."

"I can't believe this. This changes things a lot. Our Vermillion plans will have to be scrapped. We don't have time to waste. I must contact the other admins."

"Already? Don't you think we should wait until we receive instruction from further up?"

"We don't need to act now, but we do need to get in touch with those around us. Even still, I think we need some younger blood. Someone…close to the source, if you know what I mean."

"You certainly don't mean…"

"I do," Aaron grinned, "he has fallen off the map in recent years, befriending that backwards-hat boy. Certainly he will join us. If not, it doesn't matter. He would do well with us, but not against us. We know his tendencies. Against us, he's weak. An ironic statement if you ask me."

"I'm not sure we should act now, sir. Do you really think this is the right thing to do?"

"We were beaten before, but this time it's different. We are ready. We've spent years behind this curtain. The time is now. It will take a while to get everyone together, but we can do this. I'm certain of it. Get ready, Seamus, because this is going to be one wild ride."

…

Geodude appeared, and floating above the ground, looked like it was chomping at the bit to battle Charmander. As a Rock-type, it had a natural advantage against Charmander. That meant nothing to Vance.

"Alright Charmander, show them we're still in it! Iron Tail!"

Charmander ran and jumped with great speed, and with a glowing tail, slammed into Geodude with full strength. Geodude was knocked off balance, but shook the hit off and was ready to go.

"Super effective, but still not nearly enough. Geodude, Rock Slide!"

Geodude raised its arms, and out of multiple rings of energy, rocks came tumbling down on Charmander. It tried to dodge, but the rocks were too many and Charmander was hit by many of them. It was clearly shaken up after the attack.

"Hang in there Charmander!"

Charmander was sitting on the ground, panting heavily. It struggled, but managed to get to its feet. It was still panting heavily, but then its demeanor changed. It got a sudden look of determination, and then started glowing. It grew a few inches and evolved into Charmeleon.

"Yes! Charmeleon! Hey, Bryce, how do you like my unevolved starter?"

"It doesn't matter. Geodude has this in the bag. Get a move on!"

Charmeleon stood strong, looking determined to finish Geodude off.

"Charmeleon, show him some real power. Flamethrower!"

Charmeleon unleashed a powerful blast of fire in the direction of Geodude. The flames hit their mark, leaving Geodude scorched. It fell down, and tried to get back up, but couldn't get its strength and was knocked out.

"Geodude is unable to battle, Charmeleon is the victor!"

_I think this fight is over. He's down to his last Pokémon, and I still have three. Hopefully we can take him down without any problems._

"Geodude, return. What kind of battle was that? You should've beaten a Fire-type easily! Alright, Vance. Don't think you have me backed into a corner because this is my last one. Its also my best, and it can probably take out all three of your Pokémon. Let's go, Wartortle!"

Wartortle appeared, strong and with a fire in its eyes. This may have been Bryce's last Pokémon, but that didn't mean he was near losing the battle.

"Charmeleon, return. Good battling, taking out two of the team gives me a major advantage. Alright, Pidgeotto, it's up to you!"

Pidgeotto came out flying strong; the effects of Golbat's Supersonic had long faded.

"Wartortle, start it off with Water Pulse!"

Wartortle aimed and fired water in sonic waves. Pidgeotto took a hit, but with its speed managed to avoid major damage.

"Gust, Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto flapped its wings and a heavy wind overcame Wartortle, knocking it off balance.

"Withdraw, Wartortle!"

Wartortle curled up in its shell, rendering Pidgeotto's Gust obsolete.

"Alright, Pidgeotto, wake it up with Aerial Ace!"

Pidgeotto gained speed, then dove at Wartortle at full speed. Bryce seemed to be content with Wartortle taking the hit, but gave a command at the last moment.

"Wartortle, Ice Beam!"

Wartortle popped out of its shell just as Pidgeotto drew close and fired a cold stream at Pidgeotto. It tried to pull up, but was going too fast and the attack landed a direct hit. Pidgeotto was down and not moving at all.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, Wartortle is the victor!"

"Return, Pidgeotto. You fought very well."

Vance was now at a crossroads. Defensively, it was a stalemate. Charmeleon and Sandshrew were both weak to water, and neither of them were bound to stand up to Wartortle's attacks. Charmeleon was a much more experienced battler, and Sandshrew was weak to Ice Beam as well as Water Pulse, which made Vance's decision pretty clear.

"Charmeleon, it's up to you!"

Charmeleon appeared, still a bit tired from the fight with Geodude. Despite this, it was not ready to go down yet.

"Charmeleon, use Iron Tail!"

Charmeleon sprinted in and slammed its glowing tail into Wartortle, shaking it up.

"Wartortle, Water Pulse!"

Another sonic stream of water came from Wartortle, dealing a decent blow to Charmeleon. Charmeleon was still determined, but panting heavily.

"Charmeleon, we can do this. Use Crunch!"

Charmeleon ran in and with glowing teeth, bit down hard on Wartortle, leaving it in a decent amount of pain.

"Shake it off Wartortle! Use Rock Tomb!"

Wartortle summoned four rocks, which landed on Charmeleon and trapped it, injuring it badly. When Charmeleon was freed, it fell to the ground. It desperately tried to stand up, but collapsed and was out for the battle.

"Charmeleon is unable to battle, Wartortle is the victor!"

"Return, Charmeleon. You did amazing. You got us this far with two victories."

Vance knew that Sandshrew was it. It was all or nothing. He had faith, though, because of the battle it had with Starmie not very long ago.

"Here we go, Sandshrew, finish this up for us!"

Sandshrew appeared and stood waiting for its first command.

"Sandshrew, Slash!"

Sandshrew ran with good speed and swiped at Wartortle, dealing decent damage.

"Wartortle, use Ice Beam!"

Wartortle acted fast to try to hit Sandshrew while it was close, but Sandshrew was too quick and managed to only take a slight hit from the attack. Vance smiled; this was going just as well as it did with Misty.

"Sandshrew, Dig!"

Sandshrew burrowed underground and hid, waiting for a command from Vance. Wartortle stood ready, but was unsure of what it could do to avoid trouble.

"When it comes up, be ready with Water Pulse! Let's end this battle!"

Vance waited. He did not want to rush his plans. Wartortle, and eventually Bryce, were getting a bit anxious.

"Sandshrew, now!"

Sandshrew emerged, and Wartortle readied its attack.

"X-scissor!" Sandshrew dive-bombed Wartortle, and just as it released its attack, cross-slashed Wartortle for a direct hit. The Water Pulse hit Sandshrew at the same time, which left both Pokémon on the ground. Sandshrew and Wartortle managed to get to their feet and stared each other down, both panting extremely heavily. Neither one of them wanted to go down. The staring lasted for about 2 minutes with nobody moving until something finally happened.

Wartortle fell.

"Wartortle is unable to battle, Sandshrew is the victor! Vance wins the match!"

Sandshrew sat down after Isaac's announcement, exhausted but cheerful. Vance ran up and picked it up, embracing it greatly.

"First Starmie, now Wartortle. Who needs an advantage over Water-types when you've got a Ground-type that can beat them all! You have been amazing, Sandshrew. Thank you for your hard work."

Sandshrew smiled as Vance returned it to its Pokéball. Bryce walked over, looking disgruntled.

"Well, Vance, I didn't think you had it in you. Congratulations on beating the future Pokémon League Champion, Bryce Cunningham."

"Don't toot your own horn, Bryce. You have a long way to go. You lost because of your cocky attitude and lack of respect. You expect to win but you have nothing nice to say when your Pokémon lose."

"I don't need your help, Vance. I'll win my way. I've come this far. In fact, this is my first loss. We'll meet again down the road, and I promise you I'll come out of top. You watch. Until, then, smell ya later."

Bryce walked away, disgusted with the outcome of the battle.

"Well Vance," Scarlett said, "that Sandshrew of yours is quite a battler."

"Absolutely," Isaac added, "I've never seen one with such speed. Usually they rely on defense because they aren't speedy, but you have a rare exception."

"It's single-handedly won two crucial battles for me. Without that blow on Starmie, I don't think Pidgeotto would've been able to stand up against it. I never thought a Sandshrew would be a major part of my team, but after those two battles, how can it not?"

"I'm still a little bugged though," Scarlett said with her head down.

"What's bothering you?" Vance asked.

"That robbery in Celadon. Something like that could happen to us if we're not careful."

Vance walked over to her, looked her in the eye intently, and said "We will be fine. The three of us have been very strong up until this point and there is no reason to believe that we won't be going forward. Even if something bigger is happening, we need to keep going. Getting scared will only weaken our will and in effect our strength."

"Thanks, Vance," she said, hugging him, "that means a lot to me. You are an amazing person."

The trio went back to the Pokémon Center so Vance could heal his Pokémon and give them some much deserved rest. The plan? Walk around town for the night, then pay a visit to the Vermilion City Gym the next morning.


	13. Beautiful

He sat down at his desk and thought about the rumors he had been hearing. Could it be true that after all these years, his archrival could return in a flash? It was only going to be a matter of time before he could tell. Still, he knew what he had to do. He grabbed a pen and began to scribble some things, before eventually he came to this letter.

_Dear Old Friend,_

_It has been quite a long time. Too long. How are the kids? I at least hope your son has gotten the humbling that he needed. Anyway, on to the main point of this letter. It has been spread around that you have indeed returned to make one final point to me. Call it revenge? I am writing this to say one word: No._

_I must inform you that you are making a huge mistake by continuing to fight this battle. I already won. I will win again. If you come back, so will I. I will come down and defend the honor of those I love, and I have a team that will back me up. Yes, these Pokémon still stay by my side to this die, and I promise you they will still come to rescue those who need it the most._

_Why do you continue to do the same things? You either change or you die. If you refuse to change, you cannot hope to proceed. This is over. OVER. You have already been defeated twice by two different people. Can you not see that this is the end of the road? Your games can be no more. Your innocence can be no more. You cannot hide from us. We will find you, and we will destroy you._

_I will give you one last chance to surrender. Give this up now, and there does not have to be a fight. Give this up now, and I promise I can make it worth your while. I am not against you. I write this as a friend looking at one in need. I pray that you will come to your senses and bring your operation to an end. If you do not, however, understand that I am still here and have the ability to make you regret any move you even think about making._

_Sincerely,_

_The Silent_

_P.S. If you choose to respond, please send your reply letter to Professor Oak._

The Silent stood up, sealed the envelope, and stuffed his backpack. His Espeon was sitting on the couch purring, looking up at him as he walked around the house. He grabbed his Pokéballs and notched them on his belt. He put on his usual outfit and started for the door.

"Where are you going, honey?" his wife said, walking in the room, "it's awfully early to be taking off."

"Back to where it all began," the Silent replied, "Pallet Town."

He returned Espeon to its Pokéball, clipped it on his belt, and walked out the door. He did not know what to expect on this long journey, but he knew that something bigger than him was happening. Bigger than anyone. He said his prayers and walked on, alone, as he had once before.

…

Vance, Isaac, and Scarlett decided to spend the night exploring Vermilion City. They discovered that there was a special event going on at the new S.S. Anne museum that recently opened up at the docks. The S.S. Anne was a luxury cruise ship that used to come to Vermilion once a year and traveled around the Pokémon world. When it was retired 5 years ago, it was made into a museum displaying the greatest sights and trips that had been made. It was also used for special events such as concerts and conferences, and could even be rented out for parties (though the price of that was quite high, as one could imagine). On this night, a few rock bands were playing, including the up-and-coming Rollout Golem, whom Vance and Isaac both happened to be fans of.

"I love their songs 'Earthquake' and 'The Explosion,'" Isaac said, "those songs rock!"

"I'm personally a fan of 'The Curse' because of its deep meaning," Vance replied, "but those two songs are also very good."

Scarlett, however, had no knowledge of Rollout Golem, but she did leave a fan of their song "Your Hidden Power," which left Vance and Isaac satisfied. They wandered around the museum for a bit looking at old pictures of the trainers that were aboard the ship and the places it had visited. They even saw a picture of one of their favorite trainers ever.

"Hey look," Vance said, "It's Red!"

"Would you look at that," Isaac said, "the greatest trainer to ever walk Kanto. No surprise he walked this ship in his day."

Scarlett looked at the picture, but remained oddly silent.

"Ah, I had a feeling you guys would be admiring the great Red O'Neal."

At this familiar voice, they turned around to see none other than Jacob Dawson.

"Jacob! It's good to see you," Vance said, "how have you been?"

"Busy, trying to figure out this business surrounding the recent attack, _The Wait is Over, _and its possible connections to the Arcane Cadets. All signs point to some kind of connection, but we don't know what yet."

"Who is we?" Isaac questioned.

"I have a reliable source," Jacob said, hesitantly, "but he wishes to remain anonymous for now, and for good reason. He is outside of Kanto and will be coming here shortly to discuss the matter with me. But he and I have good reason to believe that this attack, the symbol and the message are all connected to the Cadets, and possibly something even bigger. I don't want to reveal anything yet, but I will let you know when I feel you need to know."

"Sounds like serious stuff," Vance replied.

"So, when are you meeting with the source?" Scarlett asked.

"He should be here in the next two to three days. We will compare notes and then come to a conclusion. In the meantime, I will be monitoring activity to see if there is any unusual movement. I suggest you three keep an eye out as well."

"We will," Isaac said, "anything else we should know?"

"Not immediately, but do be careful. I'm gonna get on my way now. Stay safe guys, it was good to see you again!"

Jacob departed, and shortly after, the trio followed. They returned to the Pokémon Center to stay for the night. They got a room and Isaac went straight to sleep. Scarlett and Vance stayed up for quite a while talking and laughing about many things, from Pokémon to family matters. Time passed by and before they knew it, the clock read 2:00am. They were just about ready to go to bed, but Vance spoke up one last time.

"Hey, Scarlett."

"Yeah, Vance?"

"I just wanted to say…you are absolutely beautiful and I have liked you ever since I met you in Viridian. So I was wondering…"

He paused and took her hands.

"Would you be my girlfriend?"

Scarlett was a bit caught off guard by this, but smiled and responded "What took you so long to ask?"

They kissed and went to bed. Vance felt like he was on top of the world.


	14. Let the Sparks Fly

Isaac woke up later than Scarlett and Vance, which he found strange because he had gone to bed quite a bit earlier than they had. It was 10am, while Vance and Scarlett had been up at 9. He got dressed and headed down to the main lobby, where he saw Vance and Scarlett snuggled together in a chair. Confused, he headed into the bathroom before approaching them.

_Are they really a thing now? That's really…strange. I never expected it, even though I probably should have. I'm happy for them, but I didn't think Vance was into her. And in any case…I kind of was._

Isaac walked out of the bathroom and met them in the lobby. He made sure not to make them suspicious of his feelings, or possibly past feelings, for Scarlett. He smiled when he saw them.

"Good morning, sunshine," Vance joked, "I hope you slept well, considering the fact that you went to bed 3 hours before us and got up an hour later."

"I feel great now," Isaac said, "for some reason I was really tired yesterday. Although it appears I should've stayed up a little later so I didn't miss anything, am I right?"

Scarlett smiled and looked at Vance. "This wonderful guy finally asked me out last night, and I wish he had done it sooner." Vance smiled back and they kissed. Isaac's heart turned over a little.

"Well jeez, leave a lot to be desired why don't you? Congrats guys!"

"Hey man, I've been wanting to do it for a while, but I wasn't sure if she was interested. It was last night when we were talking for so long that I knew I should ask her."

They ate some breakfast and got ready to head to the Vermilion Gym. Vance was excited; he knew that Sandshrew would excel in this gym and was excited to see how it would do when it had a real type advantage. They walked up to the gym and saw a trainer who couldn't be more than 10 years older than them, probably less. He had spiked blond hair and was fairly tall. He smiled and walked over to the trio.

"Challengers! Welcome to the Vermilion Gym. I'm Seth, the new Gym Leader of Vermilion Gym, as well as the newest and youngest of all the Kanto Pokémon League Gyms. Who do we have here?"

"I'm Vance."

"Isaac here."

"And I'm Scarlett."

"It's nice to meet you all. Now, who will I be taking on first?"

They all looked at each other, then Isaac said "You always go first Vance, why change now?"

"Alright, I'll go first then."

Seth led them into the battle arena, which was completely flat. In the center was a picture of a Pokéball with a lightning bolt striking through it. They took their places at each end of the field and the ref took her spot.

"Each trainer will use four Pokémon. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon mid-battle. There will be no time limit. Let the battle begin!"

"Four Pokémon," Scarlett said, "but you only have three, Isaac."

"Actually I don't," Isaac said grinning, "you'll see later what my fourth Pokémon is."

"Let the sparks fly! Jolteon, start it off!"

Seth's Jolteon appeared looking energized and ready to battle.

"Alright Sandshrew, you're up!"

Sandshrew appeared to no one's surprise, especially considering how well it did in its first two battles. It was ready for another.

"Jolteon, start it off with Shadow Ball!"

Jolteon shot a dark purple blob at Sandshrew, which it dodged easily.

"Alright Sandshrew, dig!"

Sandshrew burrowed underground, leaving Jolteon a bit confused.

"Jolteon, come back to my end of the field."

Jolteon sprinted with great speed and stood at the end of the field, waiting for Sandshrew to appear.

_What's he got up his sleeve? No matter, I can't worry about that now. _"Sandshrew, come up and use X-scissor!" "Signal Beam, Jolteon!"

Sandshrew appeared in front of Jolteon, but before it could attack, Jolteon hit it head on with a rainbow colored beam, knocking it down. Sandshrew stood up, confused more than anything, but was ready to continue.

_I didn't see that coming. That Jolteon moves fast, and with attacks like that, we won't last long. _"Sandshrew, use Rock Slide!"

Sandshrew raised its arms. The ground began shaking a bit, and white rings of energy appeared over Sandshrew. It threw its arms forward and rocks began falling out of the rings at Jolteon. Jolteon dodged many with great speed, but the sheer abundance of rocks made it impossible to dodge every rock. Jolteon took a few hits, and also was clearly getting tired.

"Alright Jolteon, use Pin Missile!"

The spikes on Jolteon's fur began to glow a brighter yellow and it started firing thousands of tiny needles from them.

"Sandshrew, dig again!"

Sandshrew dug again and Jolteon immediately halted its attack.

"Now, X-scissor!"

Sandshrew emerged and slashed Jolteon with the move it had suddenly became known for among the group. Jolteon fell down, and though it desperately tried to stand up, it could not gain its strength.

"Jolteon is unable to battle, Sandshrew is the winner!"

"Yes, Sandshrew! Another great battle!"

"Sandshrew is quite the fighter," Isaac said, "I've never seen a Pokémon with quite this much kick at such a low level."

"I agree," Scarlett said, "Vance has quite an ally on his side as long as Sandshrew is with him."

"Return, Jolteon. You battled well, now take a nice rest."

Vance was a bit surprised by this. As much as Seth seemed a bit cocky and was extremely competitive, it was clear that he had extreme care for his Pokémon.

"Now, Luxray, you're up!"

"Luxray?"

Isaac and Scarlett were confused. None of the trio had ever encountered this Pokémon, nor did they know where it came from. Vance whipped out his Pokédex, which for the most part had gone largely unused until this point, and scanned the Pokémon. It was a large, cat-like Pokémon that was mostly black but had a blue face and hind legs, along with a gold star-shape on the tip of its tail. It was more than double Sandshrew's height.

"Luxray, the Gleam Eyes Pokémon," said the Pokédex's voice, which was clearly computer generated. "It has eyes which can see through anything. It spots and captures prey hiding behind objects."

"Sounds like a serious fight," Isaac said.

"Vance better be careful," Scarlett replied, "or Sandshrew could be done."

"Alright Sandshrew, be careful with this one. It's not gonna be an easy one. Use Slash!"

Sandshrew ran up to Luxray, jumped, and swiped it right in the face. Luxray shook its head as if it had an itch, but looked back as if nothing happened.

"Luxray, use Ice Fang!"

Luxray ran up to Sandshrew; it was not necessarily fast, but as big as it was it moved fairly quickly. It's teeth began to turn light blue and give off visible cold air, and it bit Sandshrew hard. Sandshrew attempted to dodge, but Luxray's size made it nearly impossible and the hit knocked Sandshrew down. It attempted to get up, but it was unable to gain its strength.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner!"

Everyone not named Seth was electrified.


	15. Waste

"Sandshrew, return," Vance said, disheartened, "You fought very well and I owe you everything."

"Where's he gonna go now?" Isaac said.

"Charmeleon is his only choice," Scarlett said, "it's the only one not weak to Electric-types."

"Poliwhirl, you're up!"

Poliwhirl appeared, not looking too thrilled with Luxray. Perhaps it was the fact that it was an electric-type, or perhaps it was because it had just defeated Sandshrew, who became a favorite among the others.

"Surrendering already, Vance?" Seth taunted.

"Poliwhirl, Mud Shot!"

Poliwhirl shot a stream of mud out of its mouth and landed a direct hit on Luxray, knocking it down.

"Sure," Vance said, "let's call it 'surrender' then."

"Luxray, light it up with Thunderbolt!"

The room darkened as Luxray drew in power, then unleashed wicked bolts of lightning straight at Poliwhirl. It was quick, however, and managed to side step one of the bolts, though it was hit by the next and knocked down. It got up, showing its continued guts.

"Alright, Poliwhirl, let's try Ice Punch!"

With a glowing blue fist, Poliwhirl jumped towards Luxray and prepared a punch for it.

"Luxray, meet it with Crunch!"

Luxray opened its mouth and chomped right down on Poliwhirl's fist. Poliwhirl yelped in pain, but Luxray was not left unscathed. It must have felt like biting down on rock hard ice cream, because it stood with its mouth wide open and was hardly able to move its jaws.

"You froze its mouth?!" Seth exclaimed with extreme fury.

"How could that happen?" Isaac pondered, "it can use Ice Fang!"

"Just because it can use a move doesn't mean its immune to status conditions," Vance replied.

"Alright, I guess we have to do this the old-fashioned way. Thunderbolt!"

Gaping mouth and all, Luxray drew power in and unleashed it again, this time missing its mark. Its condition had taken its toll.

"Alright, Poliwhirl, finish it with Brick Break!"

Poliwhirl prepared its hand, then slammed down right on Luxray's frozen mouth with a tough fist. Luxray fell over and was down for the count, to the surprise of all but Vance.

"Luxray is unable to battle, Poliwhirl is the winner!"

Vance embraced Poliwhirl, but knew he still had work to do. "You've been gutsy, now keep it going!"

"Luxray, return. I don't quite know how that happened, but we'll overcome it next time. Good job. Now, my strongest Pokémon, this time for real."

"That thing wasn't his strongest?!" Isaac said.

"Ampharos, you're up!"

A tall, yellow giraffe-looking Pokémon that stood on two feet appeared. Isaac's face went from shock to "I get it" almost immediately.

"It's from Johto," Isaac said, "what my Mareep will eventually evolve into, and it's extremely powerful."

"Poliwhirl, you know the way. Mud Shot!"

Poliwhirl shot a stream of mud again, but Seth had other plans.

"Ampharos, use Signal Beam!"

Ampharos shot a rainbow colored beam, not unlike Jolteon's, that vaporized the Mud Shot and landed a hit on Poliwhirl.

"What was that?!" Isaac again exclaimed.

"Isaac, why are you so on edge today?" Scarlett asked, "this is unusual even for _you_."

"Sorry Scarlett," he replied, "just a bit surprised with Vance's…fight, that's all."

"Poliwhirl, you ok?"

Poliwhirl stood up, confused, but pointed back to Vance with a thumbs up.

"Alright, go for the Ice Punch!"

Poliwhirl jumped at Ampharos, looking to land a hit this time without fear of being crunched. Just then…

"Ampharos, Thunderbolt!"

Ampharos drew power similarly to Luxray, but this time it shot bolts that made Luxray's look like ground sparks. Poliwhirl was stopped in its tracks, lit up, and fell to the ground. There was no getting up this time.

"Poliwhirl is unable to battle, Ampharos is the winner!"

Everyone seemed to be stunned except for Seth, and this time, Isaac.

"Poliwhirl, return. I had a feeling it would come to this point. Pidgeotto, you're up!"

Pidgeotto appeared, looking ready to do its best against Ampharos.

"Pidgeotto, Aerial Ace!"

Pidgeotto wasted no time diving at Ampharos. It landed a direct hit, knocking it back a little bit.

"Power Gem!"

The red jewel on Ampharos' head began to glow and it shot a beam right out of it at Pidgeotto. The blast knocked Pidgeotto out of the air momentarily. It stood up, looked at Ampharos, then waited for a command from Vance.

"Pidgeotto, go for Steel Wing!"

Pidgeotto flew in with glowing wings and dove for Ampharos.

"Thunderbolt!"

Ampharos charged up and sent a blat of electricity right at Pidgeotto. There was no turning back; it attempted to land the hit, but the electricity was too much and it collapsed, still as ice.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, Ampharos is the winner!"

Scarlett and Isaac were cringing on the bleachers.

"Seth has wiped the floor with him," Isaac said, "Charmeleon beating two of his Pokémon is not going to be a cakewalk, especially if he has to still beat this Ampharos."

"Pidgeotto, return," Vance called. His head was down, but he was not giving in just yet. "Charmeleon, this is it!"

Charmeleon appeared looking stronger than ever, but Ampharos was still looking fresh. The only hit it took was a not-very-effective Aerial Ace from Pidgeotto.

"Charmeleon, start with Flamethrower!"

Charmeleon unleashed its usual fire breath attack right on target at Ampharos. It stumbled a bit, but kept going.

"Power Gem!"

The gem glowed again and Ampharos shot a beam at Charmeleon. It tried to dodge, but Ampharos had perfect aim and landed a direct hit. Charmeleon fell to the ground and was panting heavily.

_I need Sandshrew so badly. This just isn't going to happen. _"Charmeleon, hang in there! Use Crunch!"

Charmeleon sped in and with glowing teeth bit down on Ampharos. Ampharos fell in pain; it looked like Charmeleon was finally getting somewhere with it.

"Ampharos, hang tough! Finish with Thunderbolt!"

Ampharos drew in power again and unleashed one final blast of lightning, which was enough to do Charmeleon in.

"Charmeleon is unable to battle, Ampharos is the winner! The match goes to Seth!"

_What a waste._


	16. Waking the Demon

Isaac and Scarlett knew better than to try coax Vance out of the mess he was in that night and the next day. Scarlett would do no more than to hold him in her arms and kiss him every hour or so just to let him know she was there, but otherwise she knew to just let him be.

"We can't let this happen forever," Isaac said, "he's not eating and all he does is sleep and pace in his room."

"It won't be like this forever," Scarlett said, "he'll come around. He always does. We just have to let it run its course."

Isaac cringed. "You may be right, but I still want to challenge Seth. I don't want to do that while he's in this state."

"Why not? It might do him good to come out and watch a battle."

"And what if I win? He'll get even more down on himself."

"He'll get angry," Scarlett said, "and that might be the best thing for him. Motivation and determination. It'll get him right back up at the gym door. Will you give it a shot?"

"Well, at least I get to challenge Seth."

They got up early the next day and woke Vance, who was not too thrilled.

"What the hell do you want?"

"I'm going to challenge Seth today," Isaac said with a giant grin.

"Why would you do that now?"

"Because I'm going to beat him, get you up off your ass, and throw you back into the ring."

"Fine, whatever you say."

They ate breakfast and walked back to the gym, Isaac cheerful, Vance grumbling, and Scarlett a little scared. She pulled Isaac off to the side and tried to make him reconsider.

"Isaac, he's taking this a bit differently than I thought he would."

"Oh, so suddenly waking the demon is a bad idea? I think it's going to work, just wait till we get to the battle and he gets really pissed."

"Fine," she said reluctantly.

They entered the gym and Seth greeted them again. "So who's up this time?"

"It's my turn," Isaac said.

"Then let's not waste any time."

They took their places at the battlefield, Isaac looking determined as ever. Vance sat with his hands on his face.

_He can't possibly win this battle, he has a bunch of unevolved Pokémon that won't stand a chance against this powerful bunch. _

"Alright, Jolteon, let's start this off right!"

"Sneasel, you're up!"

"Sneasel?!"

Vance and Scarlett were both in awe of what they saw. Isaac revealed he had a fourth Pokémon, but not what it was. Neither of them expected a Sneasel.

"Jolteon, light it up. Thunderbolt!"

Jolteon charged and unleashed a quick bolt of lighting at Sneasel, who dodged it easily with its great speed.

"Sneasel, use Ice Punch!"

Sneasel sprinted, jumped, and landed a cold punch on Jolteon's nose. It stumbled back, nearly falling, but managed to stay up.

_Dang that Sneasel is strong,_ Vance thought, _maybe I underestimated Isaac._

Sneasel ended up handling Jolteon without much trouble. Seth sent out Magneton, which he hadn't used in Vance's battle. Isaac countered by sending out Cyndaquil, which took care of it with it's good speed and a powerful Flamethrower. After the battle, it evolved into Quilava, making it much more powerful. Seth sent in Ampharos, who used Power Gem and weakened Quilava quite a bit. Concerned for its health, Isaac withdrew Quilava.

"You fought well, Quilava. Flaaffy, it's your turn!"

Vance was again surprised, not knowing Mareep had evolved. Flaaffy managed to avoid some key attacks and get in a powerful Signal Beam to weaken Ampharos, but Ampharos finished it with a Signal Beam of its own. Sneasel came back out, and with its great speed, managed to dodge its attacks and win with another strong Ice Punch. Seth was now down to his last Pokémon.

"Luxray, it's up to you!"

Luxray appeared looking tough as it did before. Isaac now had a decision to make.

"Sneasel, return. Rest up, you'll probably need it. Quilava, here we go!"

Quilava appeared, looking rested and ready for another battle.

"Quilava, start with Rollout!"

Quilava curled up into a ball and gained speed, then slammed into Luxray, causing it to stumble a bit. It circled back around and headed in for another hit.

"Luxray, Hit it with Thunderbolt as it comes in!"

Luxray charged up and unleashed just before Quilava was able to land another hit. The bolt sent Quilava flying over Luxray, who was ducking, and it slammed hard onto the ground behind it. It struggled to get to its feet.

"Come on Quilava…"

Quilava tried its best, but could not get back up.

"Quilava is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner!"

"Return, Quilava. You fought well. Alright Sneasel, its back to you!"

Sneasel appeared for its third fight, looking ready to go still.

"Sneasel, hit it with Faint Attack!"

Sneasel ran to the left of Luxray, then suddenly disappeared, and reappeared on the other side, slashing it in the face. Luxray stumbled a bit, but stayed up, caught very off guard by the attack.

"Luxray, use Fire Fang!"

Luxray ran up to Sneasel, and with fiery teeth, bit Sneasel. The attack appeared to take its toll, as Sneasel fell over and struggled as it regained its balance.

"Hang tough, Sneasel, use X-scissor!"

Sneasel charged in, jumped, and slashed in an X formation right on target. Luxray was knocked down by this attack, but managed to get back to its feet. Both Pokémon were panting heavily.

"Luxray, end this with Thunderbolt!"

Luxray charged up and unleashed its lightning, which Sneasel was unable to dodge. The bolt struck it head on and knocked it down, and it didn't budge.

"Sneasel is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner!"

Isaac sunk his head down. He still had one more Pokémon, but he had so much confidence that Sneasel would get the job done.

"Return, Sneasel, you did very well. Let's hope it wasn't in vain. Alright, Squirtle, it's up to you!"

Squirtle appeared, dwarfed by Luxray being four times larger.

_Seth is gonna win again,_ Vance thought, _Luxray may be tired, but it still has Squirtle outclassed in every way._

"Squirtle, use Water Pulse!"

Squirtle jumped and shot a pulsing stream at Luxray, which landed a decent hit but seemed to do very little.

"Luxray, end it fast. Thunderbolt again, full power!"

Luxray charged up and unleashed its strongest storm of lightning yet, shocking Squirtle right to the core. It fell over and twitched a bit, but showed now signs of getting up.

"Squirtle is unable to battle, Luxr-"

While it was still laying down, Squirtle began to glow white. It started to stand up and began to grow larger. When all was finished, it had evolved.

"Wartortle!" it exclaimed.

"Correction," the referee interjected, "the battle will resume!"

"What?!" Seth cried out. "You declared it unable to battle!"

"Yes, but I never officially awarded the victory to Luxray. According to the Official Pokémon League Rules, if a Pokémon moves before I finish my statement, I must stop and give it a chance to resume battling."

"Gah! I can't believe this!"

Isaac looked at his Pokédex, then smiled. "Alright Wartortle, let's show him some new power. Hydro Pump!"

Wartortle jumped, went into its shell, then started spinning while water streamed out of where its appendages normally would be. The attack landed a strong hit on Luxray, leaving it barely standing. It was getting very tired.

"Luxray, try to slow it down with Ice Fang!"

Luxray charged at Wartortle and was ready to bite down with cold fangs.

"Wartortle, hit it with Brick Break!"

Wartortle jumped and with great force, chopped at Luxray, who was knocked back and stumbled over on its side. It tried desperately to stand up, but collapsed and could not go on.

"Luxray is unable to battle, Wartortle is the winner!"

Vance stood up and walked out of the gym.


	17. Crawl

"Good evening, Cadets," Mr. Lombardi said as he walked in the room, "take a seat, let's not waste any time."

Mr. Lombardi took a seat at the desk. Aaron, Seamus, Paige, and Alexander sat in a row facing him.

"First of all, we must be careful of how we speak in here. If people are suspicious of us, there may be security measures we don't know about. So I'll be speaking around the subject to take this in consideration. Now, I'm sure you have heard of the attack that recently happened, along with the message 'The Wait is Over.'"

"Made rumbles all over Kanto, sir," Aaron said.

"As it should have. That was the sign for this movement to finally take root. People seem to be suspecting that those criminals were either hired help or an opposition to us, but that is obviously not the case. There will be a peace time in Kanto, but only for a little while. Just long enough to give them a false sense of security. Outside of Kanto, AC will continue to work.

"I'm planning this movement around Alexander and Paige. They have been wonderful admins and I hope they will continue to do great work in the field for us. Aaron and Seamus, you will be in charge of overseeing their operations as you have been. You have been doing a wonderful job at the helm of AC in Kanto. Aaron, I and proud to name you chief admin in this next movement."

"It would be an honor, sir."

"Excellent, then all is settled for now. I will focus on movements in the Johto region as there could be crucial repercussions based on what happens over there. We all know about how that goes."

The group left the meeting room. As they all walked their separate ways, Alex was stopped down the road.

"What are you doing, Alex?"

He turned around to see none other than Jacob Dawson.

"How long have you been stalking me?" Alex asked.

"Oh, for about four years now, ever since you ran away from home and joined Paige on this 'adventure' or whatever you would call it."

Alex grunted. "What's it to you?"

"I met that trio that you ambushed twice. They are some of the best people I've ever met, and I'll be damned if they ever harmed anyone without good reason. So tell me why I should stand here right now and let you do what you're doing?" Alex hesitated for a moment, then said "Why does anyone else do this? I'm living a better life here than I ever could in that house!"

"You didn't have to do it like this," Jacob said, "don't you see how well I've been doing?"

"How would I know? I haven't seen you since I left."

"Well I'm doing pretty damn good, and you could be too if you weren't running around with these clowns trying to resurrect a plan that's God knows how old."

"Just let me be," Alex said, getting frustrated. "I'm doing fine for myself, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm fine. It's not like we're killing anybody."

"Yet," Jacob was quick to reply.

"Just let me go."

"Fine, but if you wanna crawl around with these guys for the rest of your life, fine. But that's all you'll ever do with them. Crawl. Not fly, not run, not even walk. Crawl. I'll let you be, but I'm warning you, if they go near Vance, Isaac, and Scarlett again, I'm not holding back."

"Just stay away from me," Alex said, walking away.

Jacob turned around and headed back to his destination. Just then, his phone rang. He looked down, smiled, and answered.

"Just the man I was waiting for. What kind of champion plan can we come up with?"

…

Vance was livid. He couldn't believe that Isaac beat Seth handily when Vance could not even defeat three of his four Pokémon. He decided to leave the group and take a walk back up Route 6 to clear his head.

"I have worked so hard to get to this point and had nothing to show for it after that miserable battle. Sure, Isaac is a good trainer, but he hasn't been training as hard as me. I don't understand why I wasn't good enough. I also don't understand why Sandshrew wasn't good enough to beat an Electric-type when it almost beat Misty's Starmie and did beat Bryce's Wartortle. Maybe Seth was just too strong. I'm not sure, but I'm gonna figure this out."

He kept on walking, trying to sort things out in his head. He came across someone he did not expect to see out on the same route.

"Hey, Vance." "Jacob? What are you doing out here?"

"Trying to help someone who I think is a lost cause. Why are you here alone?"

"Pondering things. Feeling down on myself after losing to Seth."

"Just because of a loss?"

"It's not just that. It's the fact that my Sandshrew was defeated easily by an Electric-type after beating one Water-type and nearly another. Yet Isaac was able to beat Seth without much trouble."

"These things happen, Vance. The path to greatness comes with some misunderstanding. Things happen that you can't explain, and things happen that you think shouldn't have happened. You can't get down on yourself for a loss. You want to be the Champion one day, correct? If that's the case, you have to step up. Getting down on a loss does you no good, but you take what you did well and build on it for next time. Train your Pokémon and get them ready for a victory, but show them that you care for them."

"Thanks Jacob. That means a lot, and you're right. If I'm going to become the Champion, I need to be more resilient and bounce back. We will train harder and win the next battle."

"Glad I could help. Well, I have to get moving. I have an important meeting with that source I mentioned a few days ago and we hope to make some headway on this case. Good luck and good battling, Vance."

"Good luck to you to. Let us know if we can help in any way."

"You bet I will."

Vance went back to Vermilion and met Isaac and Scarlett in the Pokémon Center. Scarlett ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"Are you ok, Vance?" she asked.

"I'm good now. I saw Jacob on the road and we talked. He told me I need to bounce back if I wish to become the Champion one day, and he's right."

"Jacob seems to be an amazing person," Isaac said, "I'm glad we've befriended him."

Just then, Scarlett's phone rang. She looked at the screen and froze for a moment.

"What is it, babe?"

"Nothing, I have to take this call," she said, walking out of the center.

"That was strange," Isaac said.

"Very," Vance replied, "I wonder what's going on."

"So what's your plan for Seth?"

"I'm gonna train for the rest of the day and take him on tomorrow. I'm going to win, and that's that."

"Pretty determined, eh?"

"Very. I got a glimpse at your battle and I know where to hit him now. And I know my Pokémon are good enough to win this battle. They are the toughest guys a trainer could ask for."

Just then, Scarlett came back in, smiling from ear to ear.

"What's up?" Isaac asked.

"That was my dad," Scarlett said, "he's visiting the area for a few days and wants to see me. And I want you guys to meet him.

"Both of us?" Isaac said.

"Yes, trust me on this one. You won't be disappointed."

"That's awesome," Vance said, "when will he be here?"

"He'll be meeting us here tomorrow."

"Well, there goes your challenge, Vance," Isaac said.

"Not necessarily, Isaac," Scarlett replied, "he would probably love to watch him battle."

"If that's the case, I'm looking forward to it," Vance said, "I'm gonna go do some training. Don't wanna disappoint him tomorrow!"

Vance set out for Route 11, where he would begin his training. He was now more motivated than ever, as he did not want to lose in front of Scarlett's father.


End file.
